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 Princess Diana, the Florida ballot counting controversy during the 2000 election, and the execution of domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh. 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 Peter Jennings and Dan Rather. Other stories required Smith's coverage overnight, like the riots following the shooting of civilian Michael Brown 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 News Anchor 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."