Shepard Smith married, divorce, salary, net worth, affair, nationality, girlfriend, gay

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<a href="/biography/shepard-smith">David Shepard Smith, Jr.</a> was born on January 14, 1964. He is better known as Shepard Smith, the famous TV news anchor in America. He is the <a href="/biography/shepard-smith">Managing Editor</a> of the News Division and anchor for Fox News.

Early Life

Smith was born in Mississippi. His father was a cotton merchant and mother was an English teacher. He attended Marshall Academy, a private school in Holly Springs and later completed his graduation in Florida, where he moved in with his mother and brother after the separation of his parents.

Later in his life, he attended the University of Mississippi from where he majored in Journalism but left two semester short of graduating college. Today, Smith seems to have regret his actions, judging by his frequent visits to the university especially during the college football season. On May 10, 2008, he even delivered the university's annual commencement address.

Broadcasting Career

Smith started his work as a journalist in Panama City, Florida with WJHG T.V. He worked on different channels in many cities across Florida such as Miami, Orlando and Fort Myers. He subsequently moved to LA to become a correspondent for the nationally syndicated television news program, A Current Affair. After A Current Affair ended production in 1996, Shepard was picked up by the Fox News channel. Since then, his career has spanned across multiple programs at Fox News including hosting the Fox Report and his own program called Shepard Smith Reporting.

Over time he has covered major news events including the funeral of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana,_Princess_of_Wales">Princess Diana</a>, the Florida ballot counting controversy during the 2000 election, and the execution of domestic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_McVeigh">terrorist</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_McVeigh">Timothy McVeigh</a>. In a 2003 poll conducted by TV Guide, he tied for the position of second most trusted TV news anchor with the likes of network giants like <a href="/biography/peter-jennings">Peter Jennings</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Rather">Dan Rather</a>. Other stories required Smith's coverage overnight, like the riots following the shooting of civilian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Michael_Brown">Michael Brown</a> by a police officer in Ferguson, or the Paris attacks on November 15, 2015. He was even on site from Boston providing live coverage during the aftermath of the marathon bombing.

The Report with Shepard Smith happened to be one of the top rated news programs on television. He brilliantly covered Hurricane Katrina, its effect and aftermath. He was nominated as one of most efficient <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_presenter">News Anchor</a> on network and overall cable news as well.

Shepard Smith especially known for his liberal use of profanity laced rants.  The Fox News Channel considers Smith a relevant factor to the way news is presented. His full bio on the network's official site reads: "On Shepard Smith Reporting, state-of-the-art newsgathering is enhanced with advanced technologies as well as digital and social media to bring viewers the latest hard news from the newly constructed signature studio known as The Fox News Deck."

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He is currently enjoying his high position of being the managing editor of Fox News’ Breaking News Division. Altogether, his work at the cable news channel is rumored to earn him an impressive $10 million per year income, and his net worth is estimated to be somewhere around the $20 million mark. On November 19, 2007, the New York Times reported that Sheppard was earning an amount of $8 million due to his three-year contract with the Fox News Channel. He had a renewed contract that year and his responsibilities on network were also increased. A new program named Shepard Smith Reporting started and he was <a href="/biography/shepard-smith">chief anchor</a> and host.

Personal Life

Shepard was once arrested in Florida on a charge of having aggravated battery, but was later released and case was dismissed.

Smith appeared in a Hollywood film called "VOLCANO", as himself. In addition, clips of him anchoring the opening of Fox News Channel on Iraq War in 2003 was used in a movie entitled Fahrenheit 9/11.

There was a famous video circulating YouTube where Shepard has a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud">Freudian</a> slip and puts the words <a href="/biography/jennifer-lopez">Jennifer Lopez</a> and blow job in the same sentence. That slip of the tongue occurred while referring to the artist's new song at the time 'Jenny From the Block'. He said: "<a href="/biography/jennifer-lopez">J. Lo</a>'s new song 'Jenny From the Block', all about <a href="/biography/jennifer-lopez">Lopez</a>' roots. About how she's still a <a href="/biography/jennifer-lopez">neighborhood gal</a> at heart. But folks from that street in New York, the Bronx section, sound more likely to give her a curb job than a blow job. Or, uh. A block party. Sorry about that slip-up there.”

Love And Relationships

Shepard married one of his classmates from his time at the University of Mississippi. He got married to Virginia Donald, in 1987. They had no children and separated in 1993. Soon after the separation Shepard was reportedly dating Patty Frees, from New York. According to reports they were even engaged and were planning to get married.

Like every famous personality, Shepard is the subject of many rumors and gossip. Many people in the media speculated that the reason for Smith’s divorce was the fact that, despite being married to a woman, he was actually a closet homosexual. According to Gawker, Smith had been dating <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Graziano">Giovanni Graziano</a>, better known by the nickname Gio, a graduate of Penn State and a former producer at Fox Business. The relationship was kept from the higher-ups at Fox since Smith’s bosses were not exactly known for their gay-friendly attitudes. It was speculated that they did not want to deal with backlash of having a gay news anchor.

What raised people's curiosity, was whether Smith's revelation and <a href="/biography/roger-ailes">Roger Ailes</a> retirement were connected on the grounds that Shepard confession came shortly after <a href="/biography/roger-ailes">Roger Ailes</a> stopped running Fox News. Shepard assured everyone that <a href="/biography/roger-ailes">Roger</a> did not force him to remain in the closet. “That’s not true,” he told The Huffington Post in an interview when asked about the reports. “He was as nice as he could be to me. I loved him like a father.” On the same interview, he was also asked whether he had heard any of homophobic slurs that <a href="/biography/roger-ailes">Roger</a> used directly. To that he answered: "No, never. He treated me with respect, just respect. I wasn’t new in the business when I came here ? I’d been doing reporting for 12 years? But I wasn’t old in it either, and he gave me every opportunity in the world and he never asked anything of me but that we get it right, try to get it right every day. It was a very warm and loving and comfortable place."

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