Samantha Harris life and biography

Samantha Harris is an American television hostess. Most notably, she was the co-host of seasons two through nine of Dancing with the Stars with Tom Bergeron. As of 2011, she is a correspondent at Entertainment Tonight.

Born Samantha Harris Shapiro in Hopkins, Minnesota her late father, Richard Shapiro, was a rock 'n' roll promoter; and her mother, Bonnie Harris Shapiro, was a dancer. In 1972, the two founded one of the country's first renaissance festivals, King Richard's Faire, which continues to this day.

On September 23, 2007, Harris gave birth to her daughter Josselyn Sydney Hess and missed the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars for season five. She returned on October 15, 2007. Drew Lachey, winner of season two, filled in for the first three weeks of competition while Harris was out.

Harris had a Jewish upbringing and received her Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, graduating with honors in 1996, where she was also a member of the Delta Gamma sorority.

On the August 17, 2010 edition of Entertainment Tonight, Samantha announced that she and her husband, Michael Hess, are expecting their second child in January 2011. On January 19, 2011, Harris delivered the couple's second daughter, Hillary Madison Hess.

As of December 16, 2008, Harris joined The Insider as a substitute host and correspondent.

Previously, Harris was a correspondent with E! Entertainment Television's E! News, and host of THS Investigates. In addition to writing, producing and reporting daily for E! News, she co-hosted the network's live award-show coverage for the Oscars, Golden Globes and Emmys. She has also appeared as a special correspondent on Good Morning America.

Prior to joining E!, Harris served as a weekend co-host for the infotainment show Extra, where she interviewed hundreds of celebrities and served as an anchor for the show's Las Vegas bureau.

Her most recent hosting job was for Dancing with the Stars along with Tom Bergeron. She took over in 2006 for Lisa Canning.

Her other hosting credits include Fox's The Next Joe Millionaire and AMC Access (the short-lived spinoff of Access Hollywood produced for AMC). Additionally, she also served as a guest co-host on The View.
Harris also got to host a week of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire shows on May 11–15, 2009.

Harris announced on January 28, 2010 that she would be leaving Dancing with the Stars to focus on other projects like her correspondent duties at The Insider and Entertainment Tonight.Season 7 champion Brooke Burke replaced Harris as co-host in the spring 2010 season.

Her acting credits include Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python, D3: The Mighty Ducks, Drop Dead Gorgeous (non speaking) Surviving Gilligan's Island, Reefer Madness!, The New "Hit" Musical (original cast), Beautiful, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and others.

Samantha made her Broadway debut in 2009 as Roxie Hart in Chicago. She performed a six-week engagement in the long-running musical from July 7 through August 16 at the Ambassador Theatre. After her Broadway run, Harris played Roxie in the Greenville, SC, engagement of the national tour, August 18–23, at the Peace Center.

Harris has modeled as a three-time cover girl for Muscle & Fitness: HERS, and for FHM, SELF and SHAPE magazines, and in various ads and commercials. She is also featured in the December 2006 issue of FHM magazine.
In November, 2007, Harris was announced as the spokesperson for Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula line, where she was featured in a national print and television campaign.

Harris supports cancer research and volunteers for charity events such as Feeding America and the Revlon Run/Walk and What A Pair.

Read more