Christopher Bryan Harrison (born July 26, 1971) is an American

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and game show host, best known for his role as the host of the ABC

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1 ...

dating show '' The Bachelor'' from 2002 to 2021. He also hosted its spin-offs '' The Bachelorette'' from 2003 to 2021, ''

Bachelor Pad A bachelor pad is a home (''pad'') in which a bachelor or bachelors (single men) live. The exact standards on what constitutes a bachelor pad are often ambiguous and debated but one definition describes it as: "A 'bachelor pad' is a slang term ...

'' from 2010 to 2012, '' Bachelor in Paradise'' 2014 to 2021, the first season of '' Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise'' in 2015, '' Bachelor Live'' in 2016, and ''The Bachelor Winter Games'' in 2018. He also served as the host of the syndicated version of ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and l ...

'' from 2015 to 2019.

Early life and education

Harrison was born in Dallas. He graduated from

Lake Highlands High School Lake Highlands High School (LHHS) is a secondary school serving grades 9-12 in the Lake Highlands area of northeastern Dallas, Texas, United States, primarily serving the Lake Highlands community. The school is part of the Richardson Independent Sc ...

in 1989. He attended

Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City University (OCU) is a private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The university offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, graduate master's degrees and docto ...

on a soccer scholarship. He was initiated into the

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and col ...

fraternity while in college.

Career

From 1993–99, Harrison worked as a sports reporter at CBS affiliate KWTV in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

. He also worked briefly for

TVG Network FanDuel TV is an American List of sports television channels, sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television, satellite television network owned by FanDuel, FanDuel Group, the U.S. subsidiary of Irish bookmaker Flutter Entertainment. Fo ...

, a horse racing channel, and was the host of ''

Designers' Challenge ''Designers' Challenge'' is a show that aired on HGTV in the United States. In each episode, three interior designers make presentations to a homeowner, who chooses one design to use in the house. It was hosted by Chris Harrison. '' Landscapers' ...

'' on

HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, app ...

. In 2001, Harrison hosted the short-lived game show ''

Mall Masters The following is a list of programs that are currently airing, upcoming, or were formerly broadcast by Game Show Network. Current programs Original programs Reruns of ended original programs Acquired programs Former programs Former original ...

'' for GSN. In 2002, Harrison guest-starred on ''

Sabrina the Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeare ...

'', as a music show host, in the episode "Ping, Ping a Song". On November 23, 2008, Harrison hosted the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...

pre-show live on ABC. His co-hosts were ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

'' judge Carrie Ann Inaba, and

Pussycat Dolls Pussycat or Pussy Cat may refer to: * Cat, a domestic feline Music Bands * Pussycat (band), a Dutch country and pop group * The Pussycats, a 1960s Norwegian rock band * The Pussycats, a group signed to Kama Sutra Records Albums * '' Pussy Ca ...

member

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the best-selling g ...

. The

TV Guide Network The American cable and satellite television network Pop was originally launched in 1981 as a barker channel service providing a display of localized channel and program listings for cable television providers. Later on, the service, branded Prev ...

, now known as "Pop," announced that Harrison was signed to anchor its live red carpet awards coverage, beginning with the 2009

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

in September. In 2011, Harrison and

Brooke Burns Brooke Elizabeth Burns (born March 16, 1978) is an American fashion model, game show host, actress, and television personality. Burns began her television career in 1995, portraying the supporting character Peg in the Spanish-American teen si ...

co-hosted the game show '' You Deserve It''. He has also co-hosted '' Hollywood 411'' on the former TV Guide Network. He has hosted ''

'' on

and ''

'' on the

Game Show Network Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along with new, first-run original and revive ...

. In April 2015, Disney-ABC announced that Harrison would replace Terry Crews as host of the syndicated version of ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and l ...

'' for the 2015–16 season. GSN began airing reruns of this show on December 18, 2017, marking a return to the network for him since the cancellation of ''Mall Masters''. Harrison earned two nominations for Outstanding Game Show Host in 2018 and 2019, but lost to

Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...

and

Alex Trebek George Alexander Trebek (; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian-American game show host and television personality. He is best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show ''Jeopardy!'' for 37 season ...

, respectively. On May 19, 2015, Harrison branched out from TV and published his first romance novel, ''The Perfect Letter''. Harrison hosted ABC’s reality television dating shows '' The Bachelor,'' '' The Bachelorette,'' '' Bachelor in Paradise'', and its spinoffs. On February 13, 2021, Harrison announced that he will be temporarily stepping aside from the franchise after facing criticism for defending a contestant on ''The Bachelor'' accused of racism. In March 2021, alternative hosts were announced for season 17 of ''The Bachelorette.'' In June 2021, it was announced that after 19 years, Harrison had permanently departed the franchise.

Personal life

Harrison was married to his college sweetheart, Gwen Harrison. They have two children, Joshua and Taylor. In May 2012, after 18 years of marriage, Harrison and his wife announced they were ending their marriage. As of 2018, Harrison was confirmed to be dating Lauren Zima, a reporter and journalist for ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American first-run syndicated news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Paramount Streaming. ET also airs in Aus ...

''. They announced their engagement in October 2021.

References

External links

ABC Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Chris 1971 births 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American game show hosts American horse racing announcers American television talk show hosts Beauty pageant hosts Living people Novelists from Texas People from Dallas The Bachelor (franchise) Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?