Jill Casey DeSantis ('' née'' Black, born June 26, 1980) is an American former news and television show host who is the

first lady of Florida The first lady of Florida is the title held by the hostess of the Florida Governor's Mansion, usually the spouse of the governor of Florida, concurrent with the governor's term in office. Casey DeSantis is the current first lady of Florida, ass ...

. She is the wife of the 46th

governor of Florida A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Repres ...

Early life and education

Jill Casey Black was born on June 26, 1980, in

Troy, Ohio Troy is a city in and the county seat of Miami County, Ohio, United States, located north of Dayton. The population was 26,305 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in Miami County and the 55th largest city in Ohio; it is part of the Da ...

. She graduated from the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...

, where she received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in economics, with a minor in French.

Career

Television

Early in her career DeSantis hosted the

Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently based out of NBC S ...

programs ''On The Tee'' and ''PGA Tour Today''. She was also a local newscaster and anchor for

WJXT WJXT (channel 4) is an independent television station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is owned by Graham Media Group alongside CW affiliate WCWJ (channel 17). Both stations share studios at 4 Broadcast Place on the south bank of th ...

, an independent station in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. She held several positions there, including general assignment reporter, morning anchor, and police reporter. She also did special reports, including for CNN. In 2014, DeSantis was a creator-moderator for ''The Chat'', an hour-long round table panel discussion talk show that aired on

Tegna Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into t ...

's Jacksonville stations

WTLV WTLV (channel 12) is a television station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Orange Park–licensed ABC affiliate WJXX (channel 25). Both stations share studios on East Adams Stre ...

(NBC) and

WJXX WJXX (channel 25) is a television station licensed to Orange Park, Florida, United States, serving the Jacksonville area as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside NBC affiliate WTLV (channel 12). Both stations share studio ...

(ABC). She hosted the daily local talk show ''First Coast Living'' as well as the weekly ''The American Dream'' program about entrepreneurs. DeSantis wrote and produced the television documentary ''Champion, The JT Townsend Story'' about high school football player J.T. Townsend. She also won a regional Suncoast Emmy Award. In 2018 Florida Politics called Casey "one of the most recognizable faces on Jacksonville television, with long runs at two local news operations."

First Lady of Florida

In February 2019, DeSantis established the First Lady's Medal for Courage, Commitment, and Service. Soon after, she announced Florida's 2019

Black History Month Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

theme as "Celebrating Public Service" where she and the governor honored the winners of Florida's Black History Month student contests and Excellence in Education Award recipients at the Governor's Mansion. DeSantis recognized Mary Ann Carroll, the only female member of The Highwaymen, as Florida's featured artist for the month. DeSantis participated in a Recovery Redfish Release to address the impacts of

red tide A harmful algal bloom (HAB) (or excessive algae growth) is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other organisms by production of natural algae-produced toxins, mechanical damage to other organisms, or by other means. HABs are sometimes ...

. "I've heard from those throughout Florida who understand that our water must be safe for our families, visitors and economy." DeSantis has hosted listening sessions on Venezuela, hurricane relief, and mental health. In August 2019, DeSantis presided over the first meeting of the Florida Children and Youth Cabinet as its chair.

Personal life

She met Ron DeSantis, then a naval officer at Naval Station Mayport, on a golf course. They married in September 2010. They have three children together; two daughters and a son. On October 4, 2021, her husband announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. On March 3, 2022, he announced that she was cancer free.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:DeSantis, Casey 1980 births Living people People from Troy, Ohio American television talk show hosts College of Charleston alumni First Ladies and Gentlemen of Florida Spouses of Florida politicians Florida Republicans Ron DeSantis