Biography of Jennifer Hale[Age, Height, Husband, Kids, Family, Salary, Award & Net worth ]

Fans of NBA and NFL might be familiar with Jennifer Hale, a FOX Sports sideline reporter, an award-winning journalist. Known as Jen Hale, she started covering New Orleans Pelicans in 2012.

An eager beaver who lives out of suitcases and spends more time on the road than home has a very affluent career in broadcasting.

In 2015, “New Orleans Magazine” named her as Top Female Achiever and was one of the Top 40 under 40 in 2016 by “Gambit Magazine.”

Well, today, we will be disclosing more than Jennifer’s professional life in this article. We will talk about her early life, family, education, net worth, and many more other details.

So, let’s get started, shall we?

Quick Facts:

Full name	Jennifer Hale
Date of Birth	February 28, 1978
Birthplace	New Orleans
Nickname	Jen
Nationality	American
Ethnicity	White
Age	44 years old
Mother’s Name	Unknown
Father’s Name	Unknown
Religion	Catholic
Horoscope	Pisces
Married	Unmarried
Alma mater	College: Northwestern UniversityLouisiana State University High School: Apple Valley High School
Profession	Sideline Reporter
Affiliation	Fox Sports 1, ESPN
Hair Color	Blonde
Eyes Color	Brown
Publication	Historic Plantations of Alabama’s Black Belt (2009)
Founder	Sideline Pass
Net Worth	$500,000 USD
Social Media	Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
Merch	Autographs, Audiobook
Last Update	August, 2022

Jennifer Hale | Early Life and Education

Born in 1978 in New Orleans and brought up in Alabama, Jennifer ‘Jen’ Hale grew up loving sports; as she says in an interview,

“I GREW UP HEARING ABOUT FIRST DOWNS AND PENALTIES BEFORE I COULD TALK.”

Just a few weeks after graduating from Apple Valley High School, her father died due to heart failure.

Planning to become an attorney, she completed her undergrads in Political Science on full scholarship at Louisiana State University, New Orleans.

However, her life took a different turn when she appeared as a political analyst for Tiger TV, a student-run television program at LSU. She confesses that was the time she fell in love with broadcasting.

Being a sports enthusiast and a ‘competitive gymnast’ led her to become the cheerleading squad captain and was also the homecoming queen and Miss LSU.

Hale completed her master’s degree from Northwestern University in partial scholarship in Chicago in Journalism.

She is also the recipient of a RIAS fellowship for the year 2009, allowing her to travel to Germany and study US-German relations.

Jennifer Hale’s Career

She covered politics for nine years before switching her career to sports. Starting her sports career with KNOE, a Monroe, Louisiana station.

Later she was sent to Baton Rouge as their capitol correspondent. Further, she started working at WAFB in Baton Rogue and as a weekend anchor in Birmingham, Alabama.

She moonlighted with MSNBC and was sent to New Orleans to cover Hurricane Katrina and then realized she did not want to leave.

This desire of hers led her to an anchor for WVUE-TV in a morning show. In this morning’s show, she would cover different themes from sports to politics and culinary.

She was happy with her job and thought she would continue to work for it until she retired.

Hale’s Career with Fox Sports

When you plan something, it never works, does it? Hale’s most significant break came when her LSU friends asked Hale to interview former athletes and special guests to put in on the LSU Athletics website.

Her work was later recommended to Fox Sports and had it not been for her past experiences, and she would not have reached where she is today.

Joining NFL on FOX in 2011, 2019 marked her ninth FOX NFL season as a sideline reporter.  She is also one of the contributing writers for FOXSports.

She is the recipient of numerous awards for her brilliant work by Edward R. Murrow, Associated Press, and Emmy.

In 2009, she published a book titled ‘Historic Plantation of Alabama’s Black Belt.’ She has published many articles that focused on travel, history, and other plantation sites.

When she is not busy covering the sports section, she uses her talent to emcee charity and other local events and mediates discussion panels.

She is also the spokesperson for women’s health at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center.

In 2015, she founded an organization called Sideline Pass, which educates and empowers young women through seminars and community outreach.

After seeing the need for mentors and opportunities for young women, she founded Sideline Pass.

Apart from establishing an organization, she is also on the advisory board for the Son of Saint organization and supports Alzheimer’s research and the Speech and Hearing-Impaired Foundation.

From political reporter to sports sideline reporter and now a philanthropist, her experiences show that you do not need to restrict your interest to succeed professionally.

How much does Jennifer Hale make in a year? Net Worth

Jennifer Hale is one of the multitalented and experienced sideline reporters of FOX Sports. Sportscasters are said to be paid a high amount of taxes by FOX Sports.

“AS OF 2022, JENNIFER HALE NET WORTH  IS ESTIMATED TO BE  AROUND $500K. “

Likewise, she earns $45k as her yearly salary, thus making a decent salary from the network. In 2006, she bought a 500 square foot condo in French Quarter, New Orleans. 

Relationship Status

There is no information about Jen’s relationship on the internet. Seeing her Instagram page, it looks like Hale is in a relationship with her career and is in no hurry to let anyone come in between.

Even if she is in a relation, she likes to keep it away from the limelight as no reports regarding her affair can be found. 

Moreover, besides hosting and reporting Hale enjoys running, cycling, cross-fit, and TRX. Likewise, she also loves to ski and surf during vacations.

Jennifer Hale’s Battle with Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Despite being a health junkie, a cross-fit enthusiast, a cyclist, and a non-smoker, Hale was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy at 38.

Cardiomyopathy makes our heart difficult to pump blood to the rest of the body.

Her symptoms started showing up in the summer of 2016, where she described that she was tired all the time and was short of breath always.

Initially, she ignored those symptoms as she thought it was due to her crazy work schedule.  

Initial Symptom

But things started getting worse in September when her fatigue and shortness of breath became more severe. In an interview with Women’s Health Magazine, she said:

“I WAS WAKING UP CLOSE TO 15 TIMES A NIGHT TO CATCH MY BREATH, AND I EVEN BEGAN SLEEPING ON MY COUCH AT A 90-DEGREE ANGLE, SO I’D BE ABLE TO SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT.”

Jennifer Hale loves her job and had worked hard to get where she was. She was not ready to let it all go. New symptoms started arising.

For instance, her feet and legs had begun to swell up. That’s when she knew things were not going well. She realized her symptoms began to progress at a fast pace.

                                 

Hale convinced herself, saying she was fine and it was just a food allergy. At that time, the swelling had extended to her waist, where she could not zip up her skirt.

She finally decided to see a doctor the next day. 

Thinking it was just acid reflux, she went to a gastroenterologist, but the doctor recommended her to ER as for someone her age, the swelling was quite unusual.

The ER doctor finally diagnosed her with cardiomyopathy, and she was transferred to the cardiac intensive care unit.

As her heart was pumping at 16 percent capacity, and her life expectancy was five years and was put on the heart transplant list. 

Work-Life Balance

Jennifer was prescribed medication by a specialist and was asked to leave her work for six months, which she did not agree to.

Being a public figure, she decided to continue working but agreed to cut back on her schedule.

She knew if she took her time off, it would slow down her career and affect her mentally. In addition to her medication, she wore a LifeVest every day to work for six months.

It would monitor the heart’s activity and would alarm if her heart slowed down and would also shock her heart into pumping if necessary.

Not willing to give up that one thing she loves, she wore the vest beneath her shirts while covering for NFL, NBA, and college games all over the country for six months.

The medicine worked miraculously. Her heart was pumping at 50 percent capacity, and she was finally removed from the transplant list after two years.

 

Hale admits that it never occurred to her mind that it would be related to a heart condition. As she lost her father, uncle, and grandfather, who all died below 50 due to heart failure.

Jennifer is in better shape today, and there are not many restrictions on her activities.  She learned in a cruel way to take care of herself and take rests frequently.

After recovering from cardiomyopathy, she became actively involved with the American Heart Association, raising awareness about heart disease.

Because of this bitter experience, she urges people to be proactive regarding heart conditions and not ignore the initial symptoms.

Jennifer Hale Today

Hale currently resides in a 500 square foot condo in French Quarter, New Orleans. She bought the apartment in 2006 after covering Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

She realized that she did not want to leave New Orleans. As a kid, she dreamt of living in the French Quarter one day and made it real after buying it from a chef.

During the pandemic, she is working day in and day out. She was the only woman on Broadcast Team for ‘The Basketball Tournament 2020‘. 

Hale is a perfect example of beauty with brains. From a cheerleader and homecoming queen to a full scholarship student to LSU, it only proves that Hale is a versatile and talented journalist.

Starting her career as a political anchor to a sports sideline reporter, she has proved herself worthy and valuable in her field.

The late start to her sports sideline reporter career was a blessing in disguise. It only made her stronger, mature, and more experienced.

In short, she has continuously proved herself in a world where women are looked at like inferior subordinates.

Social Media Presence:

Jen is very active in her social media and posts pictures frequently on her account. You can follow her via these links.

Facebook account: 28,000 followers

Instagram account: 45,200 Followers

Twitter account: 47,200 followers

Some FAQs:

Where does Jennifer Hale live?

Jennifer Hale currently lives in French Quarter, New Orleans.

What is Jennifer Hale Nationality?

Jennifer Hale is American by Nationality and belongs to the white ethnicity.

Is Jennifer Hale sick?

Jennifer Hale was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy during the 2016 NFL season.

How old is Jennifer Hale from Fox sports?

Jennifer Hale, an American journalist working for Fox Sports is 44 years old as of writing.

Did Jennifer Hale host the 2017 NBA Playoffs?

Jennifer Hale worked as a Sideline Reporter for TNT’s coverage of the 1st round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs.