Michele Tafoya is an award-winning sports reporter and journalist who is popular for her work on NBC sports news, serving as a sideline sports reporter for NBC’s programs including NBC Sunday Night Football and NBA, this has led to her rising to the limelight. She is one of the biggest names in the business, having achieved so much since she began her career.
Michele Tafoya Biography and Early Life
Michele Tafoya was born on the 17th day of December 1964 in California, specifically in Manhattan Beach. She is of the Caucasian ethnicity with 5’-9’ height it has further enhanced her stunning feature.
From birth Michele bore the name Michele Joan, it was said that her parents were anticipating a male child whom they were going to name Michael John but since it turned out to be a girl, they decided to adopt names that were close to that which was on their mind. She battled anorexia while she was growing up, but was able to get the better side of it.
Michele went to the Aviation High School from where she proceeded to the University of California, Berkeley. In 1988, she bagged a B.A. in mass communication and due to her quest to further her education, she enrolled for Postgraduate studies and she earned a Master’s degree in business administration but this time it was in Southern California.
Married, Husband, and Children
Michele is has been long married to Mark Vandersall for over 19 years now that is since in 2000. Her husband is a famous financial advisor based in Minneapolis. In 2005 November, the happy couple welcomed their first son Tyler when she was 40. Their second daughter Olivia was adopted in 2009. Michele had tried to have other children but she suffered four miscarriages.
The couple lives happily in Minnesota, and she is an ardent fan of Minnesota Football team. Her husband Mark Vandersall worked with Ameriprise Financial Services as a private wealth advisor and he also has his own personal enterprise Vandersall and Associates.
Career
Tafoya began her journalism career by first working as a host and reporter for KFAN-AM in Minneapolis. Preliminarily she worked for Minnesota Vikings and University women’s basketball broadcasts. She then began working in Charlotte for WAQS-AM.
Michele also served as a sideline correspondent and host for the Midwest Sports Channel Timberwolves.
CSB television became her next destination and in 1994 she joined the station hosting the CBS College basketball programme CSB Sports Spectacular. Still, while with CBS, Michele also made history by becoming the first woman to host the NCAA playoff games.
Her stay with CBS spanned for a period of five years, afterward, in 1999 she left the network and proceeded to ESPN, where she featured as a sideline reporter attached to the Monday Night Football during the 2006 season of NFL and a co-host on the Mike Trico Show on ESPN radio, however, her stay with the ESPN was short-lived then joined the NBC on contract as a sports analyst and correspondent covering the Rhythmic Gymnastics alongside covering the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney, Michele gradually rose to become the head of the NBA sideline reporter due to her long experience as a sideline reporter. However, in October 2008 she took time off from reporting to spend quality time with her family.
Michele later came back to the television screen, to serve a dual function as a reporter for Sportscenter as well as Outside lines, during the 2010/2011 NFL seasons. Not forgetting that Michele was the host of the evening drive talk show on WCCO-AM from June 1, 2009, to January 27, 2012.
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However, Michele was involved in a scandal as a result of the incident where she sprinkled beer on two of her fans On October 10, 2003, under her Luxurious box during a Michigan University game, nevertheless, she stooped low to make a public apology as a sign of deep remorse.
Awards and Achievements
As mentioned earlier Michele is an award-winning ground-breaking journalist, she has earned a series of accolades to herself. First, she got the award for the most outstanding sports personality in 2011 and 2013. Michele Tafoya also emerged winner of the Gracie Awards when she was with WNBA in 1997 and in 2014 thanks to her programme Sunday Night Football.
In addition, her charisma fetched her the title of the most likable sportscaster on television by the Biggest Trend-Setter in 2006, while the Davie-Brown rankings ranked Michele among the top four female Sportscasters in 2009 under the auspices of the American Sportscasters Association.
Michele Tafoya Net Worth
The awesome and unmatched on-air prowess of Michele overtime has that she is doing very well financially. She is earning a salary of over $250k annually, making her one of the highest paid female sports reporters. That said, she has accumulated a mouth-watering net worth of over $2 million, heartily, Michele is also famous as a philanthropist and she derives joy in giving to charity she makes a humanitarian use of her wealth thus, touching the lives of many.
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