Biography
Samantha Harris, a seasoned entertainment journalist and two-time Emmy-nominated TV personality, currently appears as a correspondent on Entertainment Tonight (1981), the world's top entertainment news program. Within her first months on the show, she covered the Cannes Film Festival, visited two film sets in Hawaii for interviews with Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman, and interviewed stars like Jake Gyllenhaal, Russell Crowe, Sting, Cate Blanchett, Michael Douglas, and more.
She is best known for co-hosting eight seasons of ABC's live hit Dancing with the Stars (2005), which averaged over 30 million viewers weekly and ranked as the #2 most-watched show in the U.S. during those years. In Season 2, she performed a Jive routine on the ballroom floor with World Smooth Champion and DWTS professional Jonathan Roberts.
While hosting DWTS, Samantha also served as a panelist and correspondent on CBS Television Distribution's The Insider (2004), where she shared her insights nightly. In her first year, she covered President Barack Obama's inauguration, surfed Oahu’s North Coast during an interview with 19-year-old surfing champion Bethany Hamilton, interviewed Oprah Winfrey in Chicago and Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan in LA shortly after Kerrigan’s father’s passing, and reported from the red carpet at the Emmys, SAG Awards, Golden Globes, and Oscars.
In summer 2009, Samantha made her Broadway debut in New York City, starring as "Roxie Hart" in the sold-out run of the musical Chicago.
Her TV appearances include guest hosting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (2002), multiple guest hosting stints on ABC's The View (1997), and special correspondent roles on ABC's Good Morning America (1975). One of her notable honors was co-hosting ABC’s live official red carpet pre-show for the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 2008 alongside Regis Philbin, which attracted nearly one billion viewers worldwide.
From January 2005 for four years, Samantha appeared in over 130 countries on E! Entertainment Television, writing, producing, and reporting daily for E! News. She co-hosted live award-show coverage for the Oscars, Golden Globes, and Emmys, and reported from inside San Quentin Penitentiary for E!'s "THS Investigates," a spinoff from E! True Hollywood Story (1996).
Before The Insider and E!, Samantha was weekend co-host and full-time correspondent for the nationally syndicated entertainment news magazine Extra (1994), joining in 2003. She pursued unique stories, performing with Cirque du Soleil, singing a duet with Wayne Newton in Las Vegas, and dancing backstage with the late Patrick Swayze during his LA tour stop of Chicago.
Her other hosting credits include FOX’s The Next Joe Millionaire (2003) and AMC Access, produced by NBC’s Access Hollywood (1996) for AMC.
Recognized early in her Los Angeles career for her triple-threat talents, Samantha toured North America in Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python (2002), performing comedy, vocals, and dance at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and other prestigious venues. CBS cast her as "Dawn Wells aka Mary Ann" in the made-for-TV movie Surviving Gilligan’s Island: The Incredibly True Story of the Longest Three Hour Tour in History (2001). Her acting credits also include the original cast of the award-winning Reefer Madness!: The New "Hit" Musical, along with various feature films and TV shows.
Samantha has appeared on the cover of Muscle & Fitness HERS magazine four times—a record—and has also graced the covers of USA Today magazine, FIRST, and Fit Parent. She has been featured in publications such as Shape, People, Health, and Self. A fitness enthusiast, she enjoys dancing, cardio-sculpting, and Bikram yoga, though she openly admits to being a dessert lover.
She actively supports numerous charities, including serving on the Entertainment Council of Feeding America and supporting Revlon Run/Walk, What A Pair for cancer research, Operation Smile, P.S. Arts, and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.
In 2009, Samantha had the honor of ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, marking her Wall Street debut before an audience of over 120 million viewers.
Born and raised in Hopkins, Minnesota, to a rock concert promoter father and dancer mother—who co-created one of the country's first Renaissance festivals, King Richard's Faire—Samantha graduated with honors from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, Illinois. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband, Michael Hess, and their two daughters, Josselyn and Hillary Hess.
