Jenna Lee

Jennifer Anne "Jenna" Lee (born (1980-05-30)May 30, 1980[1][2]) is an American journalist and former anchor on the Fox News Channel, where she co-hosted Happening Now with Jon Scott. Lee had previously co-anchored Fox Business Network's early-morning business news program, Fox Business Morning, with Connell McShane.

This article is about the broadcast journalist. For the ballerina, see Jenna Lee (dancer).
Jenna Lee
Born (1980-05-30) May 30, 1980
Education
OccupationJournalist, television news presenter
EmployerFox Entertainment Group
Spouse(s)
Leif Babin
​
(m. 2011)​
Children2
Parent(s)Janice and Bob Lee
RelativesZac Lee (brother)

Early life and education

Lee, a San Francisco native, was born to Janice and Bob Lee, a former National Football League quarterback.[3] Her brother, Zac Lee, was also a professional quarterback.[4][5] Lee's grandfather, Paul Kern Lee, was a war correspondent for the Associated Press in San Francisco.[6]

Lee attended college at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she played collegiate softball for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos during the 1999 season.[7] She graduated in 2002 with a B.A. in English and global studies.[8] She later attended Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, graduating in 2005 with a master's degree.[9]

Career

Career beginnings

After graduating from UC Santa Barbara, Lee worked from 2002 to 2004 at Marina Times, a San Francisco community newspaper, as a freelance reporter on her spare time.[8] Later, she enrolled at Columbia University, where she worked at NY1 and did freelance writing for Forbes.com.[8] She left NY1 and joined Forbes full-time.[8]

While at Forbes, Lee tried to orchestrate a permanent move in front of the camera.[10] Using some on-camera work she compiled from her time at Forbes, she was hired by Fox Business Network.[10]

Fox Business Network

Lee was hired by FOX News Chairman & CEO Roger Ailes in 2007.[11] With Nicole Petallides, the duo were the original anchors of Fox Business Morning on Fox Business Network when the channel made its debut on October 15, 2007.[12][8]

FOX later added Lee as a contributor to Money for Breakfast and as an anchor to the web-only FoxBusiness.com Live Morning Edition, which launched in February 2009.[8][10][13] Upon the cancellation of Money for Breakfast in December 2009, Lee gained a role on Imus in the Morning, the show that took its time slot.[14]

The last airing of Fox Business Morning was in May 2010, after which it was replaced by Best of Imus as the lead-in to Imus in the Morning.[15]

Transition to Fox News Channel

Lee left Fox Business Network in July 2010 and joined Fox News Channel, where she replaced Jane Skinner as Jon Scott's co-anchor on Happening Now.[16][17][11] She was the first personality to go from Fox Business Network to Fox News Channel.[16][11]

On June 2, 2017, Lee announced on Happening Now that she was leaving Fox News immediately to pursue other projects and opportunities.

In the media

Lee appeared in the October 2009 edition of Cosmopolitan with an accompanying photo spread detailing her wardrobe strategy.[18][19][20]

Personal life

On July 3, 2011, Lee married Lieutenant Commander Leif Babin, a former Navy SEAL officer, in Wimberley, Texas.[21] Babin, a recipient of a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart for service in Anbar Province, Iraq, in 2006, is the son of US Congressman Brian Babin.[21] The couple met at the 2008 Navy SEAL Warrior Fund dinner held in New York City at the Waldorf Astoria New York.[21]

Lee and Babin have two children, Brian Marc Babin and Liberty Josephine Babin.[22][23][24] Through social media she announced she now lives in Texas.

References
  1. "Jenna Lee". IMDb. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  2. Fell, James S. (June 9, 2012). "5 Questions: No shadows on Jenna Lee's fitness spotlight". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  3. "Jenna Lee's New York". New York. 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  4. Friedman, Jon (October 14, 2009). "Fox's Jenna Lee has a glamorous grind". marketwatch.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  5. "Zac Lee player profile". huskers.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  6. "OBITUARY -- Paul Kern Lee". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco. August 9, 1996. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  7. Barney, Chuck (October 23, 2008). "Jenna Lee rejects 'anchor babe' label". San Jose Mercury News. San Jose, California. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  8. Mason, Dave (February 23, 2011). "This Just in: UCSB grad covers the world for Fox News Channel". Santa Barbara News-Press. Santa Barbara, California. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  9. "Columbia Journalism School E-News" (PDF). journalism.columbia.edu. July 8, 2011. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  10. Huff, Richard (May 31, 2009). "Jenna Lee's tenacity paved road to Fox biz anchor job". Daily News. New York City. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  11. Pompeo, Joe (July 7, 2010). "Fox Business Network's Jenna Lee Heads To Fox News Channel". businessinsider.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  12. "Fox Business Network Debuts". CBS News. New York City. October 15, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  13. Shields, Mike (February 9, 2009). "FBN Preps Live Daily Web Series". Adweek. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  14. Flint, Joe (December 23, 2009). "The Business Behind The Show". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  15. Gold, Matea (May 26, 2010). "What You're Watching". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  16. "Jenna Lee Joins Fox News' 'Happening Now'". huffingtonpost.com. July 7, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  17. Krakauer, Steve (July 7, 2010). "Breaking: Jenna Lee Named Co-Anchor Of Fox News' Happening Now". mediaite.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  18. Allocca, Kevin (September 8, 2009). "The Ticker: Newseum, Hunter, Lee". mediabistro.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  19. "Cosmopolitan" (PDF). mediabistro.com. October 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  20. Anson, Jasper. "Jenna Lee Interview". askmen.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  21. Mallozzi, Vincent M. (July 2, 2011). "Jenna Lee, Leif Babin". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  22. Ariens, Chris (September 3, 2014). "Jenna Lee Gives Birth to Brian Marc Babin". Adweek. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  23. "It's a Girl! Jenna Lee & Husband Leif Babin Introduce Liberty". Fox News Channel. April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  24. Joyella, Mark (April 8, 2016). "A Daughter Named Liberty for FNC's Jenna Lee". Adweek. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
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