Erin Jill Andrews is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sportscasterIn sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
,
journalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, and television personality. As of 2011 she is a co-host of the
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
entertainment show
College GameDay and a contributor for
Good Morning AmericaGood Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
on the
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
networkA television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
. Andrews has been described as one of the most attractive sportscasters on television, a label for which she has received substantial media attention.
Early life and family
Andrews was born in
Lewiston, MaineLewiston is a city in Androscoggin County in Maine, and the second-largest city in the state. The population was 41,592 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included within the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine...
to Paula Andrews, a teacher, and Steven Andrews, a TV journalist. She moved to
Tampa, FloridaTampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
as a young girl when her father, a six-time
Emmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winner, began working as an investigative reporter for
WFLA-TVWFLA-TV, virtual channel 8, is the NBC-affiliated television station in Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida. The station is the flagship station of its owner and operator, Media General. Its transmitter is located in Riverview, Hillsborough County, Florida. WFLA is the only station in the market to be...
.
Andrews attended
Bloomingdale High SchoolBloomingdale High School is a senior high school located in Valrico, Florida. Bloomingdale was established in 1987. Bloomingdale's first graduating class graduated in 1989, since Hillborough County does not pull seniors from existing schools for new schools. The current principal is Mr. Mark...
in
Valrico, FloridaValrico is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,582 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, where she was a member of the cheerleading team, student government, and the
National Honor SocietyThe National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
. Following her graduation from high school in 1996, Andrews attended the
University of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, graduating in 2000 with a
Bachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(BA) degree in Telecommunications. While in college, she was a member of the
Zeta Tau AlphaZeta Tau Alpha is a women's fraternity, founded October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia. The Executive office is located in Indianapolis, Indiana...
sorority. and the
Florida Gators DazzlersThe Dazzlers are a dance squad for the University of Florida, charged with performing at the home games for the Florida Gators basketball teams...
, a dance team, from 1997 to 2000.
She also has a younger sister Kendra Andrews, who is a professional dancer and actor.
Career
Early work (2000-2004)
In 2000, Andrews joined Fox Sports Florida as a freelance reporter. In 2001-2002, she served as a
Tampa Bay LightningThe Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
reporter for the Sunshine Network. From 2002-2004, Andrews covered the
Atlanta BravesThe Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
,
Atlanta ThrashersThe Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League on June 25, 1997, and became the league's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season...
, and
Atlanta HawksThe Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
for the
Turner SouthTurner South was an American cable television network launched on October 1, 1999 by Turner Broadcasting System as the first regional entertainment network developed especially for viewers in the southern United States...
network as a studio host and reporter.
2004-present
Andrews began working for ESPN in May 2004 as a reporter for
ESPN National Hockey NightESPN National Hockey Night was ESPN's weekly television broadcasts of National Hockey League regular season games and coverage of playoff games, broadcast from 1992 to 2004...
. She has also reported for the
College World SeriesThe College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
,
Little League World SeriesThe Little League Baseball World Series is a baseball tournament for children aged 11 to 13 years old. It was originally called the National Little League Tournament and was later renamed for the World Series in Major League Baseball. It was first held in 1947 and is held every August in South...
, and
Great Outdoor GamesThe Great Outdoor Games is a series of outdoor games created by ESPN. The program was cancelled in 2006.Great Outdoor Games individual events include:* Fishing Events** Fly Fishing** Freshwater Doubles* Sporting Dog Events** Agility...
. Andrews began serving as a sideline reporter for
ESPN College Football Saturday PrimetimeESPN College Football Primetime is a live game presentation of Division 1-A college football on ESPN. In the past, the presenting sponsors have been Polaroid and AT&T. The current presenting sponsor is Hampton Hotels. The game telecast airs every Saturday night at 7:45pm ET during the college...
and Big Ten college basketball games, and in 2005, her job expanded to include
ESPN College Football Thursday PrimetimeESPN College Football Primetime is a live game presentation of Division 1-A college football on ESPN. In the past, the presenting sponsor was Cooper Tires, but since the 2006 season, the current presenting sponsor is Applebee's. The game telecast airs every Thursday night at 7:45pm ET during the...
and
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
sideline reporting. From 2008 to 2010, she reported for ESPN’s and ABC’s live coverage of the
Scripps National Spelling BeeThe Scripps National Spelling Bee is a highly competitive annual spelling bee in the United States, with participants from other countries as well. It is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W...
.
Andrews has been a guest on several
talk showA talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s, including
The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
,
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and
The Tonight Show with Jay LenoThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
.
In 2010, Andrews appeared on the
tenth seasonDancing with the Stars returned for a tenth season on March 22, 2010. There was not an elimination the first week of competition. The first elimination took place on March 30....
of ABC's
Dancing with the Stars. She and professional partner
Maksim ChmerkovskiyMaksim Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy is a Ukrainian-American Latin Ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. He is best known as one of the professional dancers on the American television series Dancing with the Stars, on which he first appeared in season two...
placed third out of 11 contestants.
On January 13, 2011, it was announced that Andrews signed an endorsement deal with
ReebokReebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
to promote its ZigTech brand. Two weeks prior, as a sideline reporter during the
2011 Rose BowlThe 2011 Rose Bowl was the 97th edition of the annual bowl game played on January 1, 2011, as part of the 2010 college football season. Played in Pasadena, California, the TCU Horned Frogs of the Mountain West Conference defeated the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference. The Pasadena...
, Andrews noted that
Texas Christian University Horned FrogsThe TCU Horned Frogs football team is the intercollegiate football team of Texas Christian University. TCU competes as a member of the Mountain West Conference in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, but will move to the Big 12 Conference for the 2012 season. TCU began playing football...
football players were slipping on the turf because of the new
NikeNike may refer to:* Nike , Greek goddess who personifies victory**The Nike of Samothrace, an ancient statue of the goddess Nike* Nike, Inc., major U.S. manufacturer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment...
shoes they were wearing. Due to the conflict of interest, ESPN announced revised endorsement guidelines for its journalists that require Andrews to end her endorsement deal with Reebok by the end of 2011.
Andrews currently hosts the first hour of ESPN's
College GameDay on
ESPNUESPNU is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced by, affiliated with and owned by parent network ESPN. ESPNU originates out of ESPN Regional Television's ESPNU (often referred to as The U) is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced...
and has been a
Good Morning America correspondent on ABC since 2010.
Charitable work
In 2010, Andrews became a spokesperson for the
Kraft FoodsKraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
Huddle to Fight Hunger campaign which aimed to raise $2.86 million for Feeding America. In May 2011, she co-hosted the
Music Builds: CMT Disaster Relief Concert on the
CMTCountry Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
network to raise money for the
American Red CrossThe American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
in response to the April 27th tornadoes in the Southern United States. In September 2011, Andrews partnered with
StubHubStubHub is an online marketplace owned by eBay, which provides services for buyers and sellers of tickets for sports, concerts, theater and other live entertainment events....
to support the Girls Night Out initiative, a program to encourage women to attend more sporting events. A portion of ticket revenues generated through the program goes to the
Tragedy Assistance Program for SurvivorsTragedy Assistance Program for Survivors is a U.S. non-profit organization that provides care and support to families and friends grieving the loss of a member of the armed forces....
, a support organization for survivors of deceased military personnel.
Stalking incident
In 2008, Michael David Barrett, 46, filmed Andrews in her hotel room through
peepholeA peephole is a small opening through which one may look.In a door, a peephole allows people inside the security of seeing outside without opening the door...
s at the Nashville
MarriottMarriott International, Inc. is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by son J.W. Marriott, Jr...
at
Vanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
in
Nashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and the
RadissonRadisson Hotels is one of the leading, full-service global hotel companies with more than 420 locations in 73 countries. The first Radisson Hotel was built in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1909, and was named after the 17th-century French explorer Pierre-Esprit Radisson...
Airport Hotel in
Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. On July 16, 2009, one of these videos, in which Andrews was nude, was posted online and quickly went
viralA viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
. Barrett was arrested on October 2, 2009 by the FBI for interstate stalking, and pled guilty to the charges on December 15, 2009. On March 15, 2010, Barrett was sentenced to 30 months in prison, 3 years of probation, $5,000 in fines, and $7,366 in restitution. He is currently serving his sentence at the
Federal Correctional InstitutionEdgefield Federal Correctional Institution also known as Federal Correctional Institution, Edgefield, is a medium security federal prison for men located in Edgefield County, South Carolina; it is partially within the city limits of Edgefield, and partially in an unincorporated area...
in
Edgefield, South CarolinaEdgefield is a town in Edgefield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,449 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Edgefield County.Edgefield is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.-Geography:...
and is scheduled to be released on July 3, 2012.
Andrews has sued Barrett, Marriott International, Radisson Hotels, and five other entities for negligence and invasion of privacy in connection with the secret videotaping. In 2011, Andrews worked with
U.S. SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Amy KlobucharAmy Jean Klobuchar is the senior United States Senator from Minnesota. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, an affiliate of the Democratic Party...
to enact a new federal anti-stalking law.