Erin Andrews

Erin Jill Andrews (born May 4, 1978) is an American sportscaster and television personality. She rose to prominence as a correspondent on the American cable sports channel ESPN after joining the network in 2004. She later joined Fox Sports in 2012 and has since become the lead sideline reporter for the network's NFL broadcasting team. In 2010, she also gained further recognition from placing third on the tenth season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars and eventually co-hosted the show from 2014 to 2019 with Tom Bergeron.

Early life and family

Andrews was born in Lewiston, Maine, to Paula Andrews, a teacher, and Steven Andrews, a broadcast journalist. Her family moved to San Antonio, Texas when she was 5 years old, and then to Valrico, Florida 18 months later, when her father, a six-time Emmy Award winner, began working as an investigative reporter for the local NBC affiliate, WFLA-TV.

Andrews describes herself as a tomboy as a youth, living a life that always revolved around sports, watching NBA games with her father growing up, particularly Boston Celtics games. Andrews cited Hannah Storm, Melissa Stark, Lesley Visser, and Suzy Kolber as female sportscasters she looked up to who ultimately inspired her to become a sportscaster herself.

Andrews attended Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, where she was a member of the dance team, student government, and the National Honor Society. While growing up, she also attended the Brandon School of Dance Arts in Seffner, Florida. Andrews has stated that being a tomboy, she did not have a lot of female friends in high school, opting to hang out with the boys, finding it more enjoyable to discuss sports with them.