Gretchen Carlson

Gretchen Carlson Headshot

Journalist • Personality • Model

Birth Name: Gretchen Elizabeth Carlson

Birth Date: June 21, 1966

Age: 58 years old

Birth Place: Anoka, Minnesota

Gretchen Carlson is an American TV newscaster best known as the former co-host for the morning news program "Fox & Friends" (Fox, 1998- ). Born and raised in Minnesota, Carlson was a standout violinist as a young girl. Throughout her teens she performed the violin all throughout her state, and was even a featured soloist with the prestigious Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. By her early 20s, Carlson competed in various beauty competitions all throughout the state. She won Miss Minnesota in 1988, and the following year became the third woman in Minnesota history to win the prestigious Miss America pageant.

With her national profile on the rise, Carlson could have easily parlayed her Miss America win into a career in entertainment. But instead she decided to finish her studies at Stanford University, and later abroad at England's Oxford University. By the late '90s Carlson decided to pursue a career as a TV journalist, and landed a number of on-air TV anchor positions for various local affiliates throughout the country.

In 2000 she landed a job working as an on-air weekend co-anchor for CBS's "The Early Show" (CBS, 1999-2012), and stayed in that role at the network for the next five years. Then in 2005 she got her big break when she was asked to become a co-anchor for the widely watched morning news program "Fox & Friends." She stayed at "Fox & Friends" for the next eight years, becoming one of the news network's biggest stars in the process, and in 2013 was awarded her own daytime news program called "The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson" (Fox, 2013-16).

After 11 years at Fox, however, Carlson informed her audience via Twitter in June of 2016 that her contract had not been renewed. A day later it came to light that Carlson had filed sexual harassment charges against Fox News CEO Roger Ailes. In light of Carlson's charges, several additional women came forward with similar charges against Ailes, thus forcing him to resign from the network. In the aftermath of Ailes' resignation, an outpouring of support for Carlson erupted on social media, with millions of people on Twitter using the hashtag #StandWithGretchen. Fox News settled Carlson's lawsuit following Ailes' resignation, reportedly for $20 million. In January 2018, Carlson was chosen to lead the Miss America organization after a scandal involving sexist emails among the organization's leaders came to light.

Credits

Sherri

Guest
Talk
2022

Common Ground With Jane Whitney

Guest
Show
2021

Zerlina

Guest
Show
2020

Beyond the Headlines: The College Admissions Scandal With Gretchen Carlson

Host
Show
2019

Beyond the Headlines: Escaping the NXIVM Cult With Gretchen Carlson

Host
Show
2019

Tamron Hall

Guest
Talk
2019

Gretchen Carlson: Breaking the SilenceStream

Executive Producer
Movie
2019

Gretchen Carlson: Breaking the SilenceStream

Self
Movie
2019

Firing Line with Margaret Hoover

Guest
News
2018

Live PD Presents: Women on Patrol

Narrator
Show
2018

Breaking Big

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Movie
2018

People Features

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Show
2018

Sexual Harassment in America: Tipping Point

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Show
2017

Live PD: Police Patrol

Narrator
Show
2017

America Divided

Correspondent
Docuseries
2016

Today's Take

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Show
2016

West Point Holiday Special

Host
Show
2015

The Daily Show with Trevor NoahStream

Guest
Talk
2015

The Late Show With Stephen ColbertStream

Guest
Talk
2015

The Whitney Reynolds Show

Guest
Show
2014

The Real Story With Gretchen Carlson

Host
Show
2013

The Real

Guest
Talk
2013

House of CardsStream

Guest Star
Gretchen Carlson
Series
2013
77%

Finding Your RootsStream

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Reality
2012

Access Hollywood Live

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Show
2010

Miss America: Countdown to the Crown

Self
Show
2009

Huckabee

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Show
2008

Today With Kathie Lee & Hoda

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Show
2007

Tavis Smiley

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Talk
2004

The View

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Talk
1997

FOX and Friends

Correspondent
News
1996

Reliable SourcesStream

Guest
News
1992

CBS News Sunday Morning

Guest
News
1979

20/20Stream

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News
1978

Good Morning America

Guest
News
1975

News aboutGretchen Carlson