BRIEF BIOGRAPHY - THE REAL CREDENTIALS
- She was high school valedictorian and graduated from Stanford University with honors.
- Carlson, now 50, grew up in Anoka, Minnesota, and is of Swedish descent.
- She was the valedictorian of her high school graduating class in 1984 and went on to study sociology at Stanford University.
- Carlson has been married to sports agent Casey Close since 1997. Close, a former baseball player, is Derek Jeter’s longtime rep.
- Carlson and Close have two kids: son Christian and daughter Kaia. The family currently resides in Connecticut.
- She's a former Miss America. Carlson won the title of Miss Minnesota in 1988 before going on to win the Miss America title in 1989.
- She was the first classical violinist to hold the crown and serves on the board of the Miss America Organization.
- She’s been working in journalism for almost two decades.
- Carlson began serving as a CBS News correspondent in 2000 before becoming co-anchor of the network’s Saturday Early Show in 2002.
- She moved on to Fox News in 2006, hosting Fox & Friends until 2013 and working with co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade for several years.
- Carlson moved on from Fox & Friends to host The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson, a position she held until she was terminated June 23, the day her contract expired.
- "As you may have heard, I am no longer with Fox News," Carlson wrote on Twitter and Facebook Wednesday. "I value your support and friendship, especially now, so please stay in touch with me." She followed up with a second tweet: "Thank you, everyone, for your outpouring of support.
NOTE: On our continuing search for Sc*mbags, we came across these comments.
Every TV morning show strives for a sense of realism but despite all the smiles, we now know there was no real affection between Ann Curry and her tormenters on “Today.”
Similarly, it wasn’t shocking to learn that tension lurked beneath the effusive happy talk of “Live with Kelly and Michael.”
Fox & Friends, however, was always a little bit different with Gretchen Carlson as co-host, because the tension often wasn’t hidden. It was part of the mood of the show—a rambling, awkward conversation that dissected and distorted the politics of the day, including the politics of gender.
And Carlson’s role for seven years, as the blonde seated between two men was part of the show’s DNA. Co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade complimented her looks and dished out jokes about her outfits. Listening to those two was like watching the Dork and Dweedle show. At times I thought they were imbeciles not news people.
Now and with more knowledge, they are imbeciles owned by Fox FAUX) news.
A string of male guests sometimes joined in the fun. Carlson pushed back often, but generally with a smile. Her relationship with Kilmeade seemed the warmer one, a girl rolling her eyes at her dumb-jock brother.
Steve (AKA The Douchebag) Doocy is also under fire in the lawsuit, with Carlson alleging he “Regularly treated her in a sexist and condescending way” and “Engaged in a pattern and practice of severe and pervasive sexual harassment” that was tantamount to treating her as “a blond female prop.”
A piece in Media Matters: Notes that a “Notable lack of major Fox News anchors and talk-show stars … stepping forward” to defend the Fox head, quoting a former “Fox and Friends” staffer, “Everyone on staff knew about or saw” Steve Doocy “make inappropriate comments.”
Ailes has made many public statements over the course of his career that can be construed as sexist and inappropriate, Politico noted. However, “Carlson’s is not the first suit to be brought against Fox News or one of its executives or personalities for sexual harassment.”
The report cites a 1994 appearance by Ailes on the Don Imus radio show prior to the launch of the network. Ailes proclaimed conservative commentators Mary Matalin and Jane Wallace, who then co-hosted of CNBC’s Equal Time, were “girls, who if you went into a bar around seven, you wouldn’t pay a lot of attention, but they get to be 10s around closing time.”
A review by Raw Story of Carlson’s reports over the years reveals that she may have been suffering in silence. In clip after clip, Carlson is shown walking off the set, advocated against make-up and the sexualization of women on television and in film and attacked Fox News for their no-pants policy.