Named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and a 2017 recipient of the prestigious Matrix Award, Gretchen Carlson is one of the nation’s most successful and recognized news anchors and a tireless advocate for the equality and empowerment of women.
The former host of The Real Story on Fox News for three years, Carlson also cohosted the number-one-rated cable morning news show Fox and Friends for more than seven years.
Carlson started her television career in Richmond, Virginia, as a political reporter, and later served as an anchor and reporter in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Dallas. She moved to the national scene as the cohost of The Saturday Early Show on CBS in 2000, where she also served as a CBS News correspondent, covering the 9/11 terrorist attack from the World Trade Center, the Bush-Gore election, and many other national and international stories. She also reported and produced a thirty-part series on domestic violence that earned her several national awards.
In 2015, Carlson’s first book, Getting Real, became a national bestseller.
An honors graduate of Stanford University, Carlson was valedictorian of her high school class and studied at Oxford University in England. Carlson grew up a child prodigy on the violin, performing as a soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra at age thirteen, and, in 1989, became the first classical violinist ever to win the Miss America crown.
In 2016, Carlson became the face of sexual harassment in the workplace, gracing the covers of Time and Good Housekeeping magazines, standing strong in her determination to promote a safe working environment for all women. Carlson is active on Capitol Hill pursuing the issues surrounding forced arbitration clauses in employment contracts that often keep harassment claims shrouded in secrecy.
Carlson formed the Gift of Courage fund to financially support organizations empowering women and young girls, and believes that giving back is essential. She currently serves as a national trustee for the March of Dimes, as a member of the board of directors for the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary in Newtown, Connecticut, and as a trustee of Greenwich Academy, an all-girls preparatory day school in Greenwich, Connecticut. She is an active volunteer and teacher at her church, and in 2016 hosted the Miss You Can Do It Pageant in Illinois to celebrate the achievements of courageous girls and young women with disabilities.