Gretchen Carlson
Gretchen Carlson | |
|---|---|
 During an interview on Fox and Friends | |
| Born | Gretchen Elizabeth Carlson June 21, 1966 |
| Occupation(s) | Co-host of Fox & Friends (Fox News Channel) |
| Spouse | Casey Close[1] |
| Website | Biography on FoxNews.com |
Gretchen Elizabeth Carlson (born June 21, 1966) is an American television host, and former Miss America, who currently hosts the Fox News morning show Fox & Friends, along with co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade.
Early life
Carlson was raised in Anoka, Minnesota, and was graduated from Anoka-Hennepin School District 11's Anoka High School, in 1984, as valedictorian.[2] One of her childhood nannies was Michele Bachmann, the future Republican congresswoman.[3] Carlson is also a former pageant winner. She won the title "Miss Minnesota" in 1989 [4] and became the third woman from Minnesota to win the "Miss America" title. For the talent competition, Carlson played Zigeunerweisen, the violin composition of Sarasate.
Carlson was graduated with Honors from Stanford University, in 1990, with a specialized degree in the field of Sociology (organizational behavior). While enrolled at Stanford University, she studied abroad as part of her Stanford program at Oxford University.[5]
Carlson is married to sports agent Casey Close, whose clientele includes Ryan Howard, Derek Jeter and formerly Josh Hamilton.[6] They have two young children.[7]
Career
Carlson was previously the co-anchor of the Saturday Early Show, on CBS, along with Russ Mitchell. She joined CBS News as a correspondent in 2000, and began working on The Early Show in 2002. Before her tenure at CBS, Carlson served as a weekend anchor and reporter for KXAS-TV in Dallas, Texas, was an anchor and reporter at WOIO-TV in Cleveland, Ohio, and for WCPO-TV, in Cincinnati. She began her television career in Richmond, Virginia, as a political reporter for WRIC-TV.[7] She began her media career in a franchise called Neighborhood News.
Carlson was moved to Fox & Friends initially as a weekend substitute host. But on September 25, 2006, a shifting of anchors, which included E.D. Hill moving to the 10 a.m. hour of Fox News Live opened a weekday slot on Fox & Friends, which Carlson filled. She co-hosts the show with Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade.
Carlson is a national celebrity spokesperson for the March of Dimes.[7]
She announced on Fox & Friends on June 9, 2009 (also repeated on Glenn Beck's Fox News television program the same day) that her parents' car dealership had been selected for closing as part of the General Motors reorganization and bankruptcy on June 1, 2009.[8][9] The dealership, Lee Carlson's Main Motors, has been operating since 1919, and is still open.[10]
Controversies
On Fox & Friends, during an interview with Dan Bartlett, Counselor to the President during the George W. Bush administration, Carlson labeled Democratic U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy a "hostile enemy" of the United States, "right here on the home front." Bartlett replied "Well, we don't view Ted Kennedy as a hostile enemy. We do view him to be an open and often critic of the war. He has been from the very outset. I don't think that's anything new."[11] Keith Olbermann chose her as that day's "Worst Person in the World" on that night's broadcast of his show Countdown,[12] while Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post called it "the Fox News exchange of the day", and asked, "Doesn't the Constitution allow for dissent?"[13]
In response to several on-air instances in which Carlson stated that she had googled the meanings of certain words (including "czar", "ignoramus", and "double-dip recession"), comedian Jon Stewart pointed out during an December 2009 episode of The Daily Show that Carlson had an accomplished academic background and accused her of deliberately playing down her intelligence to her audience.[14][15]
References
- ^ Carter, Bill (December 4, 2009). "For 'Today' and 'Fox and Friends,' Different Approaches on Disclosure". Media Decoder. New York City, New York: The New York Times Company. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
- ^ "Gretchen Carlson". Pageant Center. 2007-06-12. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ GOP's New Lightning Rod - George Will
- ^ Miss America :: History - 1989, January 11, 2007
- ^ Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,164751,00.html.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Going Deep: Casey Close, Alan Schwarz, baseballamerica.com, February 9, 2007
- ^ a b c "Gretchen Carlson". Fox News. Retrieved 2009.12.10..
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Levy, Paul (June 16, 2009). "GM terminates contract with Anoka's Main Motors". StarTribune.com. Minneapolis, Minnesota: The Star Tribune Company. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
- ^ Froemming, Mandy Moran (June 4, 2009). "Anoka's Main Motors being cut by GM". Anoka County Union. Coon Rapids, Minnesota: ABCNewspapers.com. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
- ^ "Lee Carlson's Main Motors". Main Motors website. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
- ^ Fox & Friends, January 10, 2007
- ^ Countdown, January 10, 2007
- ^ Howard Kurtz, "One Last Surge?", Washington Post, January 11, 2007
- ^ Koppelman, Alex (2009-12-09). "Fox's Gretchen Carlson is not as dumb as she seems". Salon Media Group, Inc. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
- ^ Rovzar, Chris (2009-12-09). "Jon Stewart to FNC's Gretchen Carlson: Stop Playing Dumb". New York Media LLC. Retrieved 2010-08-30.