Shepard Smith Biography
Shepard Smith is a well-known American journalist who recently wrapped up his role as the chief general news anchor and host of The News with Shepard Smith on CNBC. This daily evening newscast kicked off in late September 2020, but unfortunately, his program was canceled in November 2022.
Smith made a name for himself during his impressive 23-year stint at the Fox News Channel, where he was one of the original team members when it launched in 1996. He held the positions of chief anchor and managing editor for the breaking news division. Throughout his time at Fox, he hosted several notable programs, including Fox Report, Studio B, and Shepard Smith Reporting.
Shepard Smith CNBC New | Leaving
Shepard Smith recently wrapped up his role as the chief general news anchor and host of The News with Shepard Smith on CNBC. This daily evening newscast kicked off in late September 2020, but unfortunately, his program was canceled in November 2022. Smith made a name for himself during his impressive 23-year stint at the Fox News Channel, where he was one of the original team members when it launched in 1996. He held the positions of chief anchor and managing editor for the breaking news division. Throughout his time at Fox, he hosted several notable programs, including Fox Report, Studio B, and Shepard Smith Reporting.
Shepard Smith Career
He began his career as a reporter for local radio stations in Florida, including Miami’s WSVN-TV (FOX), Orlando’s former WCPX-TV (CBS), Fort Myers’ WBBH-TV (NBC), and Panama City’s WJHG-TV (NBC). Smith is an anchor and executive producer of “The News with Shepard Smith” (M-F, 7 PM-8 PM ET), a nightly show that provides in-depth, non-partisan analysis and insight into the day’s most important stories. Smith is also the Chief General of CNBC News Anchor and the Chief Breaking General News Anchor, as he announced when he joined the network in July 2020. It is based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, at CNBC Global Headquarters.
Smith was most recently the FOX News Channel’s Chief News Anchor and Managing Director of the Breaking News Division. Smith also presented the news show “Shepard Reporting” from 2013 to 2019. Smith previously hosted “The FOX Report” and “Studio B.”
Smith covered the presidential election, Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill, the Middle East crisis from the Israeli-Lebanon border, the 9/11 attacks, the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and mass shootings from Columbine to Las Vegas during his time with FOX News Channel. Smith began his career as a general assignment reporter for FOX News Channel in New York before being elevated to a senior correspondent. Prior to joining FOX News Channel, Smith worked as a FOX News Edge reporter in Los Angeles, where she covered a range of stories for FOX affiliates, including the TWA Flight 800 tragedy and the Oklahoma City bombing.
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Smith starred in the 1997 film Volcano as himself. The film Fahrenheit 9/11 featured footage of Smith presenting Fox News during the opening moments of the March 2003 Iraq War. In the 2019 docudrama Bombshell, a historical video of Smith anchoring Shepard Smith Reporting during the 2016 US presidential election was used.
Shepard Smith Age
How old is Smith? Smith is 62 years old as of 2026. He was born David Shepard Smith Jr. on 14 January 1964 in Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States. He celebrates his birthday on the 14th of January every year.
Shepard Smith Education
Smith attended Holly Springs’ Marshall Academy. Following graduation from high school. He went to the University of Mississippi to study journalism but dropped out after two semesters to work as a reporter in Panama City, Florida. On May 10, 2008, Smith gave the university’s 155th opening speech.
Shepard Smith Nationality | Ethnicity
What ethnicity is Smith? he belongs to the white ethnicity/heritage. Steve was born and raised in Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States. He holds American nationality and citizenship by birth.
Shepard Smith Height
Shepard, stands at an average height of 5 feet 11 inches (1.7 m) tall.
Shepard Smith Family | Siblings | Parents
Smith was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, to English teacher Dora Ellen Anderson and cotton businessman David Smith Sr. Benton Smith is his younger brother. After Smith graduated from high school, his parents divorced, and he relocated to Florida with his mother.
Shepard Smith Wife | Married
Smith married Virginia Donald, a classmate at the University of Mississippi, in 1987. In 1993, they divorced with no children. Smith revealed in 2017 that he is gay and has a long-term lover, Giovanni Graziano.
Shepard Smith Gay | Partner
is Smith Gay? Smith publicly revealed that he was gay and had a long-time lover in 2017, Giovanni “Gio” Graziano, a former Fox News business producer for several years
Shepard Smith Salary
How much does he earn? Smith earns an estimated salary ranging between $80,000 – $ 95,000.
Shepard Smith Net Worth
Smith, an American television news anchor has a net worth of $25 million.
Shepard Smith Fox News
After kicking off his career as a correspondent for the Fox affiliate service NewsEdge, Shepard Smith made his way to Fox News Channel right at its launch in 1996. Throughout his time there, he covered some of the most pivotal stories of the time, such as the tragic death of Princess Diana in 1997, Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial in 1998, the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, the execution of Timothy McVeigh in 2001, Hurricane Katrina, and the passing of Michael Jackson in 2009.
By 2003, The Fox Report with Shepard Smith had risen to become one of the leading cable news programs in the U.S., landing in the third spot overall. That same year, Smith was recognized as one of the most trusted news anchors on both broadcast and cable television, sharing the spotlight with Dan Rather and Peter Jennings. His status at the network was evident in his lucrative contracts, including a reported $7–$8 million annual deal in 2007, followed by a renewal in 2010. In 2013, he took on the role of managing editor for Fox News’ breaking news division and became the host of Shepard Smith Reporting.
One of the most talked-about moments in his career happened in 2012 when he was narrating live helicopter footage of a police chase in Arizona that ended tragically with the suspect taking his own life on air. Smith later apologized on air, calling it a “human error,” while the network faced legal action from the family of the man involved after the footage aired.
In November 2017, Smith faced backlash from some viewers when he openly challenged the Uranium One conspiracy theory, putting him at odds with fellow Fox host Sean Hannity, who had backed the claims related to Hillary Clinton.
Fox News extended Smith’s contract for several more years in March 2018. However, on October 11, 2019, he announced during Shepard Smith Reporting that he was parting ways with the network. In a 2021 interview with Christiane Amanpour on CNN, Smith later shared that his role at Fox had become “untenable,” expressing concerns about what he described as falsehoods and misinformation being presented on some of the network’s programs.
Shepard Smith CNBC
On July 8, 2020, CNBC made a big announcement: Shepard Smith was joining the network as its chief general news anchor and chief breaking news anchor. He kicked off his new role by hosting The News with Shepard Smith, a primetime show that debuted on September 30, 2020, airing on weekdays at 7:00 p.m. ET.
This show aimed to go beyond just financial news, diving into in-depth, well-researched stories that covered the wider global news scene. Interestingly, CNBC had previously run a show with a similar name in that same time slot from 2002 to 2004, which was hosted by Brian Williams and later by John Seigenthaler.
Despite its ambitious goals, The News with Shepard Smith was canceled in November 2022, and Smith left CNBC shortly after that.
