Jill Casey DeSantis (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

'' Black, born June 26, 1980) is an American former news and television show host who is the first lady of Florida. 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 Represe ...

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 Uni ...

, 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 ...

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

independent station An independent station is an independent radio or terrestrial television station which is independent in some way from broadcast networks. The definition of "independence" varies from country to country, reflecting governmental regulations, market ...

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

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, a ...

. 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'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 S ...

(NBC) and WJXX (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 The Suncoast Emmy Awards are regional Emmy awards presented by the Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) that represents Florida; Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, & New Orleans, Louisian ...

. 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 phycotoxin, algae-produced toxins, mechanical damage to other organisms, or by other means. HABs are ...

. "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 Naval Station Mayport is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a protected harbor that can accommodate aircraft carrier-size vessels, ship's intermediate maintenance activity (SIMA) and a military airfield (Admi ...

, 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