Fox News anchor Sandra Smith has been a fixture of the network since she joined in 2007. But
while many of her colleagues try to court as much publicity as possible, Smith likes
to keep her personal and professional life entirely separate.
Sandra Smith graduated from Louisiana State University in 2003 with a degree in business.
But it was only when she took advantage of a national student exchange program that she
discovered her true calling. The Fox host explained to New Orleans Living Magazine,
"I loved French in high school. Then I discovered there was a French-speaking area in the United
States, so I thought, 'That's it — I'm going down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana!' […] I went
back home and just knew in my heart that I belonged in Louisiana, so I transferred to
LSU."
"LSU has an absolutely stunning, beautiful campus."
As part of an interview with the university, Smith revealed that her decision paid off
tenfold. She explained,
"I close my eyes because it's my happy place. I love to think about Baton Rouge and my time
spent there: the people I met, the places I went, the food I tried. It was just such
a unique experience that I'm forever grateful for. […] It really helped me start to look
at what I wanted to do."
Who knew that Smith was once a part of the same track and field team as Olympians Muna
Lee and Lolo Jones? Yes, back in her college days, the Fox News staple was a talented long
distance runner who competed in steeplechase and cross-country. Even as recently as 2016,
she still held LSU's third-fastest time ever in the 3,000 meters.
"LSU was just amazingly supportive, both of my academics and my athletics."
Smith first began running with her "avid marathoner" dad at the age of five and within two years
she was doing 5K's. And although her dad is now in his 70s, the pair still enjoy the occasional
run together from time to time. In 2016, Smith told Runner's World how much she values a
good run as part of her daily life, adding,
"I have long days at work, which is why it's really important that I come home and just
have that few minutes to myself to clear my head [and] go for a run. I love running — it's
my escape, it's when I think best. With so much going on, running is no longer a chore
or a stress to me. It's a getaway."
Smith certainly knows what she's talking about when it comes to business. After graduating
from LSU, she landed a research associate position at Aegis Capital Group. From there,
she moved on to a similar role at New York City's Hermitage Capital Corporation before
taking on Director of Institutional Sales and Trading at Chicago's Terra Nova Institutional.
Throughout her business career, Smith also represented her employers on various financial
TV shows. And by 2007 Bloomberg Television came calling. Smith told Adweek in 2016,
"The whole process was very organic […] I decided to make a huge career change, moving
to television after working in the institutional trading world, a field in which I had studied
and achieved all of these fancy licenses. It was a very difficult decision, but that
was my big break."
Smith's first day at Terra Nova Institutional was certainly an eventful one. As well as
progressing her career, it was also the day she first set eyes on her future husband,
John Conolly. In a 2013 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Smith remembered the moment,
sharing,
"As we made our way around to the last person on the desk, there was John, the only person
paying me no attention. When prodded, the tall, bow tie-wearing, wavy-haired, nerdy
but handsome guy turned around, smiled, and introduced himself."
For his part, Conolly claimed he knew instantly that he'd be walking down the aisle with the
new recruit. Conolly actually left the firm within two weeks, but the pair stayed in touch,
and after enjoying a proper first date at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, romance began
to blossom. Although Smith later moved to New York to take a job at Bloomberg Television,
the pair made their long-distance relationship work. In 2010, they said "I do" with a ceremony
at Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral. Conolly later joined his wife in the Big Apple after
accepting a director of marketing position with the CME Group — and the couple have
remained there happily ever since.
"I need to help our audience understand. I need to know more, they need to know more."
Sandra Smith may work for a news organization that leans toward the right, but that doesn't
mean she won't call out prominent Republicans when needed. In 2020, White House press secretary
Kayleigh McEnany was attempting to defend Donald Trump after he appeared to give his
blessing to controversial conspiracy theorist group QAnon. After McEnany claimed that Trump
had never explicitly mentioned them, Smith reminded her that, just 24 hours earlier,
he had talked about them.
"His words were that he has heard about them. And that they are people that love our country.
It was puzzling to many people."
The following year, Smith grilled Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's Secretary of State, about the leak
of an alleged incriminating phone call with the President.
"So why did you go the avenue of leaking a phone call with the President. I mean, don't
you worry about the precedent that that sets?"
In 2014, Smith told The Hollywood Reporter that she strives to seek out the real story,
over her own opinion. She said,
"I don't include personal politics in my journalism. Even if my personal belief is in line with
the discussion, you'll see me play devil's advocate just to make sure the other side
is represented."
Even the most professional of news anchors can make a rookie mistake once in a while.
And Smith went viral thanks to an interview with Washington, D.C. lawyer Cleta Mitchell,
who had doubts about the official outcome of the 2020 Presidential election. As Mitchell
was detailing her views about the legitimacy of the results, Entertainment Tonight noted,
"Smith, who believed that her mic had been turned off at the time, subsequently remarked
to co-host Trace Gallagher, 'What? What is happening? Trace, we've called it.'"
"Just because CNN says — or even Fox News — says that somebody's president, doesn't
make 'em president…"
"What?"
Of course, Smith's disbelief over Mitchell's claims soon became the talk of social media.
Smith seems to have kept quiet about the goof, but Mitchell later doubled down on her stance,
tweeting,
"[I'm] happy to be considered a nut job because I believe in the rule of law."
Smith was perhaps always destined to pursue a career in business. As the host recalled
to Politico in 2015, she grew up in Wheaton, Illinois in a family of traders. And her father,
in particular, was keen to immerse her in the world of stocks and shares from a very
young age. Smith recalled,
"My dad brought me down to the trading floor as a little kid. I always took to finance,
I always took to money, I always took to business. I studied it in college. It wasn't always
my intention to be on television, but it sort of happened that way. I started trading, started
going on television, and it was just a natural progression into what I am doing now."
Bringing things neatly full circle, Smith ended up reporting at the very same marketplace
she frequented as a child, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Smith explained to Alister & Paine
in 2012,
"[My dad] was an integral part in introducing me to business and finance. I was the youngest
of six kids, one of five girls. He was really good at showing each one of us what he did
and what was going on downtown."
In 2016, Roger Ailes resigned from his position as Fox News chairman following several allegations
of harassment, including those from former employees Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson.
But the disgraced media mogul wasn't shunned by everyone at his old network. In fact, several
hosts came forward to publicly defend him. Smith told the Hollywood Reporter in the wake
of the scandal,
"I was very surprised and a little bit confused."
Smith also appeared to take umbrage with Carlson's claims that Ailes had demanded she wear outfits
that showed off her body, adding,
"Amazing, a television executive who cares what his television screen looks like. I mean,
this isn't a shocker. […] I do work with women who do like to look good and feel good.
Many of us are athletes and we work out, some of us work out together. That's just the environment
we're in. […] And image is important, believe it or not, when you're on a television screen."
Ailes died a year later, before any further legal action could be taken.
"I'm Trish Regan along with my co-moderator Sandra Smith."
In 2015, Fox News reportedly put all other networks to shame by becoming the first to
hire two women to moderate a televised presidential debate. And alongside Trish Regan, Sandra
Smith was chosen to be the record-breaker. The event included then-Republican presidential
candidates Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee, and Rick Santorum. But Smith told
People beforehand that her own history-making shouldn't be the focus. She said,
"We don't have to press the gender issue. It naturally comes through in our conversations
that we are women, and women naturally bring a different perspective. It's an organic thing."
Having helped to secure a ratings hit for a news network that week, Regan and Smith
were later invited to chair another debate featuring Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee and
Rick Santorum, in January 2016. In a pre-match interview with Elle, Smith was once again
keen to point out that her gender shouldn't come into play. She noted,
"I certainly do things differently because I'm a woman. But I don't force the issue.
I don't say, 'Because I'm a woman, I do X or Y.' Being a woman is enough. Whatever happens,
happens organically, whether it's anchoring a show or asking questions at a debate."
Smith first became a mother in 2013 with the birth of her daughter, before she and Conolly
added to their family two years later with the arrival of their son. And parenthood initially
allowed the host to take a break from the constant stresses and pressures of the daily
news cycle. Speaking with Elle in 2016 just ahead of her second stint as presidential
debate moderator, Smith recalled,
"When I went on maternity leave, I went off the grid completely. You need that. You need
to bond with your child, and that's so important."
But the self-professed "news junkie" couldn't keep her eyes off the world's ongoings for
too long. Within weeks she found herself immersed again in the headlines. But as far as whether
her home life affected her role as one of the network's most dependable hosts, Smith
says yes. And for the better. She said,
"Motherhood opened my eyes and broadened my perspective in so many ways. I'm better at
my job for it — no question."
Alongside her daily duties as a Fox News host and mother-of-two, Smith also somehow finds
the time to fit in a slew of hobbies. She's an avid golfer — and as a keen pheasant
and grouse hunter, she's just as handy with a gun as she is with a putter.
In a 2015 chat with Outdoor Life, Smith revealed that she developed a love of nature in her
teens. But it was a skeet-shooting date with her future husband that introduced her to
the joys of hunting. She recalled,
"[John] taught me the circle of life, and exposed me to beautiful land and beautiful
hunting dogs. It was the most amazing experience."
Having started her career on the testosterone-heavy trading floor, Smith has no problem dealing
with those who hold old-fashioned views about the sport. She says,
"I find hunters to be overwhelmingly gracious, wonderful people. So when I say this, I say
this as the exception. But some men will challenge a woman in the field, and say, 'Oh, she can't
possibly be a good shot.' But those people are like that in the rest of their daily lives,
not just when they hunt."
It seems fair to say that the Smith household has a bit of money in the bank. Her husband,
John Conolly, has been in the financial industry since 2002, having worked as a chief marketing
officer for Azul Partners, Inc. and as a director of product marketing for the CME Group.
Smith herself has been an invaluable part of the Fox News line-up since the mid-2000s.
And having learned the tricks of the trading floor from her dad, the host no doubt knows
how to be shrewd with her cash. It's little wonder then that the former hedge fund account
manager is said to have a net worth of $6 million.
But how does that compare to her Fox News colleagues? Let's just say Smith has a ways
to go in beating the network's top earner — with Sean Hannity rumored to have a net
worth of a staggering $250 million!
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