Former Miss America Gretchen Carlson remains highly relevant in the media even after so many years of her victory. She is a television commentator and chair of the board of directors of Miss America. Carlson has always been into media production and has supported this campaign with a thriving television career. She’s worked as a host on shows like Fox and Friends, and The First Show and has a strong background in news reporting. Besides being a TV commentator, she is also an author; Carlson released his autobiography Getting Real in 2015.
Gretchen’s presence in the media is plagued with tons of controversy many of which have kept her name on the lips of the general public. From sexual harassment to Miss America disputes, Gretchen must have a series of life stories in her personal diary. These events also made people want to know more about the media personality. Uncovering more facts about Carlson would mean answering some of the frequently asked questions regarding his career and personal life.
Who is Gretchen Carlson?
She was born on June 21, 1966 in Anoka, Minnesota to her parents Karen Barbara and her father Lee Roy Carlson. She was raised alongside her two brothers and one sister by their Lutheran parents who also instilled in them the values of the Lutheran church. Gretchen attended Anoka High School and was popular at school for her brilliance. In 1984, she obtained a valedictorian title and was also elected among the assistants of Anoka Homecoming.
In 1988, Carlson proceeded to enter the Miss Minnesota Beauty Pageant and won. She went on to win the Miss America title for her state. She attended Stanford University and studied organizational behavior.
Gretchen’s career began when she joined CBSNews as a correspondent in the year 2000. But before that, she worked for KXAS-TV in Texas as an anchor and weekend reporter. She held the same positions at WOIO-TV in Cleveland and also for WCPO-TV, Cincinnati. Carlson began working as a co-anchor on CBS’s The Early Show in 2002 and was highly recognized for her performance on the show.
She gradually transitioned into television and her career as a political reporter for WRIC_Tv in Richmond, Virginia. She became a weekend backup host on the Fox & Friends show and was later named the show’s co-host weekday host along with Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade. After so many years with Fox & Friends, Carlson left the show and later hosted The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson. The show, however, was later canceled after Carlson left Fox News.
What happened to him?
Carlson’s contract with Fox News reportedly expired in 2016, and in July of that year, the former Miss America took to her Twitter page to announce that she had left Fox. The same day she made the announcement, reports spread like wildfire that Carlson had filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Roger Ailes, president of Fox News. Six other women also came forward at the time to accuse the Fox News president of sexually harassing them.
Carlson was all over the news after the development and she made good use of her popularity to reach out to her fans and other victims of sexual assault through live videos from her Twitter account. She offered support and assistance to victims of assault, urging them to stay strong. Fox had requested that the matter be dealt with in binding arbitration behind closed doors in accordance with the requirements of Gretchen’s contract with the company, but it was denied.
After a long fight, Roger Ailes resigned as president of Fox News in July 2016 and Carlson was awarded $20 million in compensation.
What is she doing now?
Gretchen Carlson is the president of the board of directors of the Miss America organization. Her tenure as president has also been plagued with much controversy around issues of unfair treatment and toxicity. But Carlson kept his position. She participates in a few outreach activities and advocates for the “Miss You Can Do It” pageant founded by former Miss Iowa USA, Abbey Curran, in honor of young women with special needs.
Gretchen lives with her husband Casey Close and their two children in Greenwich, Connecticut.