Charissa Jean Thompson
(born May 4, 1982) is an American
television host
A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...
and
sportscaster working for
Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
. Previously, Thompson worked for
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
,
Versus, as well as for
GSN and the
Big Ten Network. She was the co-host of ''
SportsNation'' along with
Marcellus Wiley
Marcellus Vernon Wiley Sr. (born November 30, 1974) is an American sportscaster and former American football defensive end who played 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers, Dallas ...
until her departure from ESPN for Fox Sports in June 2013.
She became the host of ''
Fox Sports Live'' on the new
Fox Sports 1
Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports ...
network when it debuted on August 17, 2013 (the first day of Fox Sports 1). She also was one of the American hosts of ''
Ultimate Beastmaster
''Ultimate Beastmaster'' is an American sports entertainment reality show competition that premiered on Netflix on February 24, 2017. The show differentiates itself from other obstacle course competition shows by showcasing not only international ...
''. From 2014 to 2017, Thompson was a co-host on the syndicated entertainment news show ''
Extra
Extra or Xtra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper
* ''Extra!'', an American me ...
''.
Early life and education
Thompson was born and raised in
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
.
The youngest of three children,
[ she knew she wanted to be a broadcaster from an early age.] She attended Inglemoor High School
Inglemoor High School is a public high school located in Kenmore, Washington, United States. It is one of the largest high schools in the state of Washington and has an average of 30 students per teacher. As of 2017, the student population was ap ...
in Kenmore, Washington
Kenmore is a city in King County, Washington, United States, along the northernmost shore of Lake Washington. It is a suburban commuter town at the mouth of the Sammamish River, northeast of downtown Seattle and west of Bothell. The population ...
. Thompson moved to California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to attend community college and gain California residency. She later transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...
where she graduated with a B.A. in Law and Society in 2004. While ''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' wrote "she left Washington State
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
(WSU) to attend community college in California before transferring to UC Santa Barbara," Thompson has clarified she did not attend WSU.
Sports broadcasting career
Big Ten Network and Fox Sports Net (2007–2010)
Early in her career, Thompson appeared on various college sports shows on Big Ten Network and Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...
(FSN). Thompson additionally served as a sideline reporter for college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
and college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
games on the two networks. She would continue these roles as she progressed in her sports media and journalism career, as she became a National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) sideline reporter for NFL on Fox
The ''NFL on Fox'' (also known as ''Fox NFL'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by Fox Sports and televised on the Fox broadcast network. Game coverage is usually preceded by ''Fox NFL Kickoff ...
.
For Big Ten Network, Thompson appeared on various Big Ten Network shows, such as ''Big Ten's Best'' and ''Friday Night Tailgate''.
For FSN, she appeared on baseball programs, including ''The 2007 MLB All-Star Game Red Carpet Parade'' and ''The Baseball Report'' both on Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...
(FSN). She also appeared on FSN's ''BCS Breakdown'' and ''The BCS Show''. Thompson co-hosted FSN's ''The Best Damn Sports Show Period
''The Best Damn Sports Show Period'' was an American sports television show that aired on Fox Sports Net and Comcast SportsNet. The show regularly featured irreverent and opinionated interviews with top athletes, coaches, celebrities, and entertai ...
'' alongside Chris Rose and John Salley until 2009, due to the show's cancellation. She also hosted FSN's rodeo show ''Toughest Cowboy''.
In the fall of 2008, Thompson completed her first run as an NFL sideline reporter.[ During the season, Thompson dyed her hair black to "rid erselfof the ]Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.
...
thing," as she is notably blond. Her change of hair color drew attention from some sports blogs; ''Deadspin
''Deadspin'' is a sports blog founded by Will Leitch in 2005 and based in Chicago. Previously owned by Gawker Media and Univision Communications, it is currently owned by G/O Media.
''Deadspin'' posted daily previews, recaps, and commentaries of ...
'' ran an article titled: "Charissa Thompson Continues Down Suicidal Path to Frumpyville". Thompson shortly switched her hair color back to blond.[ In 2016, she recalled the event in an interview with ]HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
. Beyond the scope of this incident, Thompson's sex appeal has been touched upon by various media outlets since.
Thompson also appeared outside of the Big Ten Network and FSN early in her career. She was on the cover of the April 2009 issue of ''Access DirecTV'' (satellite TV provider DirecTV's monthly ''TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
''-like magazine) and interviewed Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
pitcher Cole Hamels
Colbert Michael Hamels (born December 27, 1983), nicknamed "Hollywood", is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (2006–2015), Texas Rangers ( ...
for the feature story. Also in 2009, co-hosted ''Big Saturday Night'' on Game Show Network
Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along with new, first-run original and revive ...
(GSN), and appeared on '' Shaq Vs.'' as a sideline reporter.[ In the fall of 2009, she served as a reporter for ''NHL on Versus''.
]
Continued career growth and ESPN years (2010–2013)
In 2010, Thompson appeared on the NFL Network's "NFL Now Updates". She covered the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, reporting for Yahoo Sports
Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. Bef ...
. She was also recently added as a co-host for the Speed Network's "Fast Track To Fame" alongside now retired NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
driver-owner turned Fox Sports analyst Michael Waltrip. In June and July 2010, Thompson covered the FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
in South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
for Yahoo! Sports
Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. Bef ...
. In January 2011, she covered the BCS National Championship game for Yahoo! Sports. A week later, she covered the Super Bowl in Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
, for Yahoo! Sports and then the NBA All-Star Game
The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a ...
for Yahoo! Sports. On January 30, 2011, she covered the NHL All-Star Game
The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...
for Versus. A month later, Versus dropped Thompson and Lindsay Soto from their ice-level reporting staff after the NBC-Comcast merger; they were replaced by Pierre McGuire
Regis Pierre McGuire (born August 8, 1961) is an American-Canadian ice hockey executive who last served as senior vice-president of player development for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously worked as a televis ...
, Brian Engblom
Brian Paul Engblom (born January 27, 1955) is a Canadian ice hockey broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and a former professional hockey defenseman.
Biography
Engblom was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and played for the University of Wiscons ...
, and Darren Pang
Darren Robert Pang (born February 17, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played his professional career with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (1984–85 and 1987–89).
He is currently the lead c ...
, forming the Inside the Glass team.
In June 2011, Thompson joined ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
. With Michael Smith, she co-hosted the show ''Numbers Never Lie
''His & Hers'' was a sports discussion show hosted by Michael Smith and Jemele Hill who have each appeared on Highly Questionable as a co host but not together; it was televised by ESPN2 as part of its weekday lineup of studio programs. Originall ...
'', which debuted September 12, 2011. Thompson has also filled in as a host on '' SportsNation'' and '' First Take''. In July 2012, she replaced Michelle Beadle
Michelle Denise Beadle (born October 23, 1975) is an American sports reporter and host who is part of the San Antonio Spurs broadcast team. Beadle was formerly the co-host of the ESPN morning sports show '' Get Up!'' along with Jalen Rose and ...
as host of ''SportsNation'' after Beadle left for NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
. She left ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
in June 2013 to return to Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
.
In 2013, Thompson joined actor Joey Lawrence as a co-host of the ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's reality TV series ''Splash
Splash or Splash! or The Splash may refer to:
Common meanings
* Splash (fluid mechanics), sudden disturbances on the surface of water
Entertainment
* ''Splash'' (film), a 1984 fantasy film starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah
** ''Splash, Too'' ...
'', where star contestants dive from Olympic-style platforms and are scored on their performance by Olympic divers, David Boudia
David Alasdair Boudia (; born April 24, 1989) is an American diver. He won the gold medal in the 10 metre platform diving competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the bronze medal in the same event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He also ...
and Steve Foley as well as the voting TV audience.
Rejoining Fox Sports for FS1 launch (2013–present)
Thompson rejoined Fox Sports in 2013 for the launch of Fox Sports 1
Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports ...
(FS1); she began on FS1 as a host on Fox Sports Live.[ She also became a presenter for '']Fox NFL Kickoff
''Fox NFL Kickoff'' is an American sports television program that originally debuted on FS1 on September 8, 2013, and moved to Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox) on September 13, 2015, and serves as the secondary pre-game show for the network's Nat ...
''.[ In 2018, she replaced ]Katie Nolan
Katherine Beth Nolan is an American sports television host known as Katie Nolan, most recently serving as a commentator for Apple TV+'s ''Friday Night Baseball'' and recently created short-form content at NBC Sports. She formerly hosted a weekly ...
as the host of ''NFL Films Presents'' on FS1.
''Thursday Night Football'' (2022–present)
Thompson hosts ''Thursday Night Football
''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...
'' on Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...
, the NFL's first package of games available only via streaming. She hosts pregame, halftime and postgame coverage.
Other broadcasting appearances
Thompson has also served various roles outside of sports broadcasting. In 2014, she joined Mario Lopez
Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on ''Saved by the Bell'', ''Sa ...
and Tracey Edmonds
Tracey Elaine Edmonds (née McQuarn; born February 18, 1967) is an American businesswoman, television producer and personality. She is the CEO of Edmonds Entertainment Group Inc and Alrightnow.com and is a former host of the television show '' E ...
as a co-host on the syndicated television show ''Extra
Extra or Xtra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper
* ''Extra!'', an American me ...
''. She also appeared as the host of the "Barstool Spelling Bee" in May 2015. In 2016, it was announced that Thompson would be a host on the Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
reality show
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
''Ultimate Beastmaster
''Ultimate Beastmaster'' is an American sports entertainment reality show competition that premiered on Netflix on February 24, 2017. The show differentiates itself from other obstacle course competition shows by showcasing not only international ...
''. Thompson also joined Top Rank
Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including Muh ...
's broadcasting team for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Jessie Vargas pay-per-view event.
Thompson appears in local television advertisements for her father's car dealership.
Personal life
Thompson resides in Malibu, California
Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malibu ...
. In January 2020, she got engaged to sports agent Kyle Thousand
Kyle Jason Thousand (born October 2, 1980, in Sioux City, Iowa) is a sports agent and the head of the baseball division at Roc Nation Sports.
Early life and education
Thousand grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, where he attended Sioux City North High ...
. She and Thousand married on December 30, 2020. It was announced they were divorcing in April 2022.
She had a previous marriage when she was 25. She also previously dated ESPN analyst and former Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...
player Jay Williams. Thompson spoke about her Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...
article in 2019, clarifying that she was not a trapeze
A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...
artist as the article previously mentioned.
In January 2018, nude photos of Thompson were leaked online after her iCloud
iCloud is a Personal cloud, cloud service from Apple Inc. launched on October 12, 2011 as a successor to MobileMe. , the service had an estimated 850 million users, up from 782 million users in 2016.
iCloud enables users to sync their data to t ...
account was hacked. Thompson shortly thereafter sought legal action. That June, she spoke about the incident to ''The Athletic
''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports ...
'', stating "When it comes to your physical being and intimate photos between you and your boyfriend and things that you sent to someone when you were in a long-distance relationship and in love, it is your private property. So it felt — the obvious — like such an invasion."
References
External links
*
Biography
on Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Charissa
1982 births
Living people
American sports announcers
American television reporters and correspondents
American television sports anchors
College basketball announcers in the United States
College football announcers
ESPN people
Fox Sports 1 people
Fox Sports announcers
National Football League announcers
National Hockey League broadcasters
Participants in American reality television series
People from Kenmore, Washington
Television anchors from Seattle
University of California, Santa Barbara alumni
Women sports announcers