Who is Virginia Donald? – Shepard Smith partner, net worth, and relationships

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

  1. She was born in 1966 to American parents and she spent her early childhood in Mississippi, US.
  2. Her parents were both high school teachers and they taught in the school that she attended.
  3. 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.
  4. Donald met Smith at the University of Mississippi, they had been classmates and started dating between 1985/1986 before getting married in 1987.
  5. Their marriage ended in a divorce that was finalized in 1993, and they did not have any children together.
  6. In 2017, Smith admitted to being gay and claimed to have been dating his partner Giovanni Graziano for a long time.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Virginia Donald has an estimated net worth of $2 million in 2021 while Smith is said to be worth well over $20 million.
  10. 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.

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He first got a TV gig working with WJHG-TV, virtual channel 7, owned by Gray Television. Smith also did some jobs for WBBH-TV in Fort Myers, WSVN in Miami and WCPX-TV (now WKMG-TV) in Orlando before the American television newsmagazine program A Current Affair employed him as a correspondent.

Shep Smith Fox News career

In 1996, he joined as one of the first correspondents of the newly formed Fox News Channel. He notably reported the 1997 death of Princess Diana, the 1998 impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, the 2001 execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, and the 2005 Hurricane Katrina.

He also got his own show called The Fox Report with Shepard Smith and it was ranked third among the top five US cable news programs in 2003. Additionally, Smith was regarded among the top three most trusted news anchors on both network and cable news, according to a USA Today article.

Smith got an annual salary deal of between $7 million to $8 million with Fox News in 2007 and he extended the contract in 2010. By 2013, he was managing editor of Fox News breaking news division and got another show called Shepard Smith Reporting. He parted ways with the company in October 2019.

Shep Smith CNBC career

CNBC, an American business and economic news network announced that Smith was joining it as the chief general news anchor and chief general breaking news anchor in July 2020. In September 2020, the company launched The News with Shepard Smith.

Is Shep Smith gay?

Shepard Smith and Giovanni Graziano picture

Yes, the TV personality himself confirmed that he was gay and has been dating his boyfriend Giovanni Graziano since 2012. However, they are not married and Shepard Smith does not have a husband. Giovanni Graziano Shepard Smith’s relationship was a major talking point for the press in 2017.

Virginia Donald net worth

There are sources that claim that Virginia Donald has an estimated net worth of $2 million in 2021. These sources do not provide proof and this figure can either be correct or incorrect. However, her former husband had a net worth of an estimated $8 million to $10 million in 2007. In 2021, Smith is worth nearly $20 million and most of it comes from his multi-million deal with CNBC among other jobs that he does.

Virginia Donald personal life

Aside from being a 55-year-old American woman who was once married to one of the country’s most popular reporters, there isn’t much available online about Virginia Donald. Did she remarry? Did she have children of her own? These questions do not have verified answers yet and we look forward to updating this section of the article later when there are additional details available.

Conclusion

Donald appears to relish living just out of the reach of the media as she could easily make headlines for saying something sensational about Shepard Smith, her former husband. She has not taken that route and instead chosen a more private life.

The journalist has no doubt made some sort of comfortable living for herself with her skills and brilliant mind. She is doing well at this time. You may also enjoy reading about the online model and internet personality Olivia Ponton, learn how she found fame and is making the most of it.

 

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About The Author

Obinna

Obinna is a fiction writer from Lagos, Nigeria, and grew up loving comic book characters and superheroes. He watches lots of action films and writes entertainment and technology articles. He is also interested in science and how things work.

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