Virginia Donald is famously known as Shepard Smith’s partner and ex-wife, although she is also an American TV personality and socialite. Virginia was married to the TV celebrity fondly called Shep Smith, for almost six years.
Her career in the entertainment industry is also quite impressive as she has worked for a good number of established media companies. Nevertheless, she’s usually in the limelight more for her ties to Smith. She has not yet remarried since their divorce 18 years ago while a lot has also happened to her ex-husband since then.
For example, he had come out as being gay and has been in a relationship with his partner Giovanni Graziano for nearly 9 years. Both Donald and Smith have done pretty well for themselves since they parted ways.
Top ten facts about Virginia Donald
- She was born in 1966 to American parents and she spent her early childhood in Mississippi, US.
- Her parents were both high school teachers and they taught in the school that she attended.
- She completed high school at 18 in 1984 and enrolled at the University of Mississippi’s Meek School of Journalism and Acting, earning a Bachelor’s Degree holder in Journalism in 1988.
- Donald met Smith at the University of Mississippi, they had been classmates and started dating between 1985/1986 before getting married in 1987.
- Their marriage ended in a divorce that was finalized in 1993, and they did not have any children together.
- In 2017, Smith admitted to being gay and claimed to have been dating his partner Giovanni Graziano for a long time.
- Donald worked as a writer for several news outlets and as a column writer for magazines in the US. Additionally, she worked as a presenter and also a small-time actress.
- Smith worked for Fox News Channel between 1996 and 2019 and he was popular for reporting the 1997 death of Princess Diana, the 1998 impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, and other important historic events.
- Virginia Donald has an estimated net worth of $2 million in 2021 while Smith is said to be worth well over $20 million.
- In July 2020, CNBC announced that Smith was joining the company as the chief general news anchor and chief general breaking news anchor.
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Early life and education
She was born Virginia Donald in 1966 to American parents and spent her early childhood in Mississippi, US. Her parents were both high school teachers who prioritized education. While Donald has shared some details about her childhood, she does not mention having any siblings.
She completed high school at 18 in 1984 and enrolled at the University of Mississippi’s Meek School of Journalism and Acting. Four years later, she was a Bachelor’s Degree holder in Journalism and she may have minored in acting too. Online sources claim that she was something of a genius and was considered the best graduating student in her class.
By that time, she was already making strides in the world of TV journalism and had met and married Smith.
Marriage to Shep Smith
Donald had met Smith at the University of Mississippi where they were classmates and started dating between 1985/1986. Their whirlpool romance eventually led them to the altar in 1987. They stayed married until 1993 when they divorced.
During the time she was married to Smith, Donald’s career and aspirations took a backseat. Meanwhile, her husband advanced in his career. While the couple never disclosed why their union broke down, the answer seemed to become more glaring as time passed.
In 2017, Smith admitted to being gay and claimed to have been dating Graziano for a long time. This revelation likely explains why his marriage to Donald ended. They did not have any children together. It was only after their divorce was finalized that Virginia actively started her career in journalism.
Virginia Donald career
Her career officially started in 1993 when she began sending articles to news outlets and also writing for magazines in the US. We could not find the names of any media house she wrote for then online. However, she was not just a column writer as she also worked as a presenter and small-time actress.
As we already mentioned at the beginning of this article, she is more famous by virtue of her ex-husband’s status. Now, let us take a brief look at why he is well known.
Shepard Smith Wiki
Smith had not earned his degree in journalism before he started working as a journalist. The official story about this is that he was two credits away from his Bachelor’s Degree before he dropped out to take a job as a reporter in Panama City, Florida. At the time, he was married to Donald who he met in the University.
