Suzanne Lisa Kolber, generally known as Suzy Kolber, is a famous American television sports anchor and reporter. She is currently a football side line reporter, co-producer and sports commentator for ESPN.
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Suzy was born on May 14, 1964 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. In 1982, she graduated from Pennsylvania’s Upper Dublin High School, and in 1986, she graduated college with a Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunication from the University of Miami. While in college, Kolber started working as a sports director for Dynamic Cable in Coral Gables. Post her graduation, she worked as a video tape coordinator for CBS Sports in New York. Practically around the same time – from 1985 to 1989 – she also produced a sportscast at WTVJ-TV in Miami, thanks to which she won a local Sports Emmy in 1988.
As you may have guessed, ESPN’s sportscaster was keen on sports since she can remember herself. According to an interview, she fell in love with sports, pretty much from the time she was born. “Sports have always been my first love. Every little kid’s dream is to be a professional athlete if they are involved in sports. And, at the time when I was growing up, there were fewer opportunities for women to be a professional athlete. Being on the sidelines, to me, was the next best thing!” she says.
From 1989 to 1990, Kolber made a living by freelancing as a sports specials producer for WPLG-TV in Miami. In 1991, producing and reporting for Breeders’ Cup Newsfeed in Greenwich, Conn was also added to her freelancing assignments. Then, in 1993, when ESPN2 was launched, she was one of the original anchors. “I was the first on-air person hired, and it was an exciting time. For me personally, it opened many doors and opportunities,” she admits. However, ‘The Skinny’ left ESPN2 in 1996 and joined Fox Sports as an anchor for sports news programs. She came back to ESPN on August 1999. Being recognized by the Fox network as the valuable asset she was, Kolber served there as the lead reporter for network's coverage of the NFL on Fox teaming up with the network's No. 1 announce team of Pat Summerall and John Madden for one game in 1998.
While working for the ESPN the first time, Kolber covered some of the major NFL games, bicycle-stunt events and Grand Slam tennis events She has also NFL games and horse racing for Fox and Fox Sports, not to mention coverage of pre-race program NASCAR Countdown and Super Bowl XL for ABC Sports in 1996. She is the producer of the 1990-1991 Cowboys Special Edition, and the Greyhound Racing during 1988-1990. As mentioned above, prior to her association with ESPN, she was a newscaster and correspondent for WPEC-TV in Florida and producer for WPLG–TV in Miami.
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Kolber has a long career spanning four decades. Starting from the bottom rung of the ladder, she has steadily climbed her way up to the top based on her hard work and dedication establishing herself, as a top sports commentator. It is certain she is a highly paid professional and for a good reason. But her exact salary from ESPN is not disclosed. Most of her earnings are from her television appearances and her working for ESPN. Her net worth is being estimated around $18 million by numerous sources.
There is no doubt that Suzy is one of the most talked journalists in sports news. She is blessed with a great personality. Her style of commentary and technique are outstanding and her communications skills are excellent. Viewers of her programs hang on to every word she says. As a person she is comfortable to be around with. She makes it a point to be friendly and cheerful with her co-hosts who are happy to share working space with her in the commentary box.
Tall, smart and elegantly dressed, she is truly a picture to behold. The only thing that her fans seem to disagree with is her hair. Normal as it looks is sparks a reaction or two among the more observing of her followers. Thanks to her looks however, her name hit headlines on December 20, 2003 when she was covering a New York Jets game. Joe Namath, a former Jets quarterback, twice expressed his desire to kiss her in a national television sideline interview with her and he couldn’t care less about the team struggling. She responded, "Thanks, Joe. I'll take that as a huge compliment." Namath of course later apologized blaming his alcohol addiction for which he was hospitalized. Yet, given that the biggest truths are told while we’re drunk, it’s nearly unarguable that Lisa is genuinely beautiful and worth kissing! Till date, this is a topic often discussed among television audiences.
From what is known as a fact, Suzy married her long-term boyfriend, Eric Brady in 2008. At the same year, she gave birth to a little girl, now named Kellyn. However, Kolber is a private person and does not share her personal life with the media. During her pregnancy, her father Gene Kolber said that this was a private matter in order to keep the media at bay. There have been rumours that speak of Suzy wanting to raise her daughter a single mother. Those rumours originate primarily from her husband’s lack of public appearances with his wife. Yet, nobody can know for sure.
As for Kellyn, her mother hopes she’ll grow up to love sports as much as she does. “My football helmet from when I was a kid is in my office, and she always asks me to put it on her. Every little kid probably likes to run and throw the ball, but it really thrills me. I hope she loves sports as much as I do when she grows up.”
Last Modified: Apr 8, 2020
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