Gretchen Elizabeth Carlson, born on June 21, 1966, in Minnesota, is a broadcast journalist, author, and advocate whose career has been defined by both her on-air success and her pivotal role in the fight against workplace sexual harassment. A woman of remarkable versatility, she first captured national attention not as a news anchor but as a classically trained violinist and beauty queen, winning the Miss America title in 1989 before ever stepping behind a news desk. Her journey from the pageant stage to the anchor chair, and ultimately to the forefront of a major social movement, has made her one of the most consequential figures in modern American media.

Raised in Anoka, Minnesota, Carlson was a prodigious youth violinist who competed in numerous music contests, an early discipline that foreshadowed her later determination and poise. She attended Stanford University, where she graduated in 1990, and during her time there, she parlayed her pageant success into a springboard for her broadcasting ambitions. After winning Miss Minnesota in 1988 and subsequently being crowned Miss America 1989, Carlson began her journalism career at local television stations in Virginia, Ohio, and Texas. Her talent and drive soon propelled her to national prominence, and she joined CBS News, where she hosted the Saturday edition of The Early Show from 2002 to 2005. In 2005, she moved to Fox News, becoming a co-host of the influential morning program Fox & Friends, a role she held until 2013, before anchoring her own show, The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson, until 2016.

Carlson’s life took a dramatic and historic turn in July 2016 when she filed a lawsuit against then-Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes, alleging sexual harassment. Her courageous decision to go public was a watershed moment, prompting dozens of other women to come forward with similar accusations against Ailes, who subsequently resigned under immense pressure. The lawsuit was settled in September 2016 for a reported $20 million, with 21st Century Fox issuing a public apology to Carlson. Her case is widely recognized as one of the first and most prominent high-profile instances of the #MeToo movement, which would explode into a global reckoning later that year. In the aftermath, Carlson channeled her experience into advocacy, co-founding the organization Lift Our Voices in 2019 to campaign against non-disclosure agreements and forced arbitration clauses that silence victims of workplace misconduct. Her tireless lobbying efforts culminated in the passage of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 3, 2022, followed by the Speak Out Act on December 7, 2022, both of which were championed by Carlson.

Beyond her activism, Carlson has remained a prominent public voice through her writing, authoring the memoir Getting Real and the New York Times bestseller Be Fierce: Stop Harassment and Take Your Power Back. She also served as chairwoman of the board of directors for the Miss America Organization from 2018 to 2019, a role that came full circle from her pageant roots. In 2017, she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, a testament to her impact on both media and society. Today, Carlson continues to work as an advocate and commentator, using her platform to push for systemic change in workplace culture, ensuring that her legacy extends far beyond the anchor desk.