Table of Contents
Shae Cornette (American Sports Broadcaster)
Shae Cornette’s height may be one of the most searched questions about her, but there is far more to this Chicago-born sports broadcaster than a single statistic. Born Shae Peppler in 1986 and raised on the city’s love of sport, she built a broadcasting career the hard way — starting as a field reporter for the Big Ten Network, earning her stripes on Chicago’s Fox 32 as the primary television reporter for the Chicago Bears, and eventually working her way onto one of the biggest stages in American sports media.
Cornette graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with dual degrees in broadcast journalism and kinesiology. That combination of communication skill and sports science knowledge proved to be a foundation she would draw on throughout her career. She brought the same preparation to every role — from hosting Bears Unleashed on Fox 32, to anchoring SiriusXM NFL Radio nationally, to co-hosting ESPN Radio’s GameDay alongside her husband, Jordan Cornette. That last achievement came with a historic footnote: the couple became the first married pair to co-host a national ESPN Radio show.
In 2025, ESPN named her the permanent host of First Take — the network’s flagship morning debate program — where she sits alongside Stephen A. Smith. It was a milestone that reflected years of consistent, credible work across local and national platforms.
| Full Name | Shae Peppler Cornette (birth name: Shae Peppler) |
| Date of Birth | August 1, 1986 (exact date unconfirmed; 1986 verified) |
| Place of Birth | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Profession | Television Sports Anchor, Broadcast Journalist, Radio Host |
| Employer | ESPN (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Education | Dual degrees in Broadcast Journalism and Kinesiology — Indiana University Bloomington |
| Career Start | Big Ten Network — Field Reporter, College Football |
| Current Role | Permanent Host, ESPN’s First Take (alongside Stephen A. Smith) — appointed October 16, 2025 |
| Notable Roles | Fox 32 Chicago (Bears Reporter); Bears Unleashed (Host); SiriusXM NFL Radio (Host); ESPN Radio GameDay (Co-Host); SportsCenter (Anchor); Kap & Co. ESPN 1000 (Co-Host) |
| Historic Milestone | First married couple (with Jordan Cornette) to co-host a national ESPN Radio show |
| Spouse | Jordan Cornette (former Notre Dame basketball player; married June 1, 2019) |
| Children | 2 children — son: Joey Jackson Cornette (born April 10, 2021); second child’s details not publicly confirmed |
| Parents | Robyn Steger (mother); Shirley Jones (father) |
| Siblings | Coley Steger (sister); Bristeger Stager (sister — less consistently confirmed) |
| Height | Not officially confirmed (estimated 5’6″–5’7″ by third-party sources) |
| Estimated Net Worth | $1 million – $3 million (estimated; not officially confirmed) |
| Salary | Not publicly disclosed (industry comparison: former First Take host earned ~$500,000/year) |
| Charity | Co-founder, Fashion’s Fight Against Cancer — raised over $200,000 for pediatric cancer research |
| Residence | Fairfield, Connecticut, United States |
Who is Shae Cornette?
Shae Cornette (born Shae Peppler) is an American sports broadcaster and the permanent host of ESPN’s First Take alongside Stephen A. Smith. Born in Chicago in 1986, she graduated from Indiana University and built her career across Fox 32, SiriusXM, and ESPN Radio before joining ESPN full-time in 2020.
Early Life and Education
Shae Cornette was born Shae Peppler in Chicago, Illinois, in 1986. The city shaped her early years in ways that would prove lasting. Chicago is a town built on sports loyalty, and growing up there gave her a natural feel for the rhythms and passions of American athletics. That early exposure, combined with a close and supportive family environment, laid the groundwork for a broadcasting career she did not initially plan to pursue.
Childhood and Family Background
Shae was raised in Chicago by her mother, Robyn Steger, and her father, Shirley Jones. By her own account, the family was close-knit, and she credits that upbringing with shaping both her work ethic and her values.
She has at least one confirmed sister, Coley Steger, whose battle with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma has been publicly noted and is something Shae has spoken about with evident feeling. A second sister, Bristeger Stager, is referenced in some sources, though this is less consistently confirmed across reliable outlets.
What stands out about her early story is the career she originally had in mind. Shae did not grow up dreaming of a broadcasting desk. Her first ambition was marine biology — a detail that makes her eventual path all the more interesting. Sport was always a passion, but she saw it as a hobby, not a profession. That distinction would not last long.
Educational Journey
Shae enrolled at Indiana University Bloomington intending to study marine biology. The turn toward journalism came through a combination of encouragement and a single piece of initiative that changed everything.
A professor recognized her natural ability for communication and suggested she explore broadcast journalism. At first, she was not convinced. Then, during a period of campus interest in basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, she interviewed fellow students and submitted the footage to the Big Ten Network on a whim. They aired it. That moment, according to multiple published accounts, was the one that shifted her direction entirely.
She switched her major to broadcast journalism and added kinesiology as a second area of study, graduating from Indiana University Bloomington with dual degrees in both fields. While at university, she interned at MTV Networks and Showtime Networks in New York, and gained hands-on production experience at WTIU, Indiana University’s campus television station. She also worked as a production assistant on CBS’s coverage of the Chicago Bears — an early connection to the team she would later cover as a professional reporter.
Her academic background gave her something many broadcasters lack: a structured understanding of both storytelling and the science of sport. That combination would prove useful at every stage of her career.
Career
Shae Cornette did not arrive at ESPN overnight. Her path from Big Ten sidelines to one of the most watched morning shows in American sports television was built role by role, city by city, over more than a decade of consistent work. Each position added something — a new sport, a new format, a new audience — and by the time ESPN came calling nationally, she had experience that few broadcasters her age could match.
Early Career — Chicago Roots and Local Media
Shae’s first professional foothold came at the Big Ten Network, where she worked as a field reporter covering college football. It was a fitting starting point for someone who had already submitted student work to the network while still at Indiana University. The role gave her live reporting experience at a national conference level before her career had barely begun.
From there, she expanded her presence across Chicago media. She worked as a correspondent for The Chicago Huddle on ABC 7 and took on hosting duties for CelebTV.com, developing the kind of versatility that would define her later career. Neither role was glamorous by industry standards, but both sharpened skills she would use repeatedly in the years ahead.
The most significant chapter of her early career came at Fox 32 Chicago, where she became the station’s primary television beat reporter for the Chicago Bears. The role was broad and demanding. She anchored newscasts, hosted pre-game and post-game shows, and carried the Bears coverage through an entire broadcast cycle on a weekly basis. Out of that work came Bears Unleashed — a weekly program she launched on Fox 32 dedicated entirely to in-depth Bears analysis and interviews. The show built a dedicated viewership and became, by multiple accounts, the go-to source for Bears coverage in the Chicago market. It was the kind of local franchise that takes years to build and reflects real audience trust.
Alongside her television work, Shae moved into national radio. She joined SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio and SiriusXM NFL Radio, working in a format that placed her alongside former NFL players, coaches, and front office personnel. Radio demanded a different set of skills — no camera, no graphics, just voice, knowledge, and the ability to hold an audience. She handled it credibly enough that the work led directly toward ESPN.
Her entry into the ESPN ecosystem was not through a formal hire but through a familiar door. When her husband, Jordan Cornette, moved to Connecticut to join ESPN’s headquarters, Shae initially filled in for him on his ESPN 1000 radio show in Chicago. That temporary arrangement led to something more permanent. She became co-host of Kap & Co. on ESPN 1000 — a program that held the top rating in its time slot. It was the clearest signal yet that she was ready for a larger stage.
Rise at ESPN — Radio, SportsNation, and SportsCenter
Shae joined ESPN nationally in 2020, initially taking on hosting duties for the network’s college sports coverage. She appeared across ESPN’s digital shows and featured prominently during marquee sporting events, building familiarity with the network’s audience before any single title was attached to her name.
The most publicly noted milestone of this period came through ESPN Radio. She and Jordan Cornette were paired as co-hosts of ESPN Radio’s GameDay, the weekend flagship of the network’s radio operation. The pairing made history: they became the first married couple to co-host a national ESPN Radio show — a distinction that ESPN itself highlighted and one that drew significant media attention. It was a professional achievement and a personal one, and it demonstrated that the network trusted both of them enough to share its most prominent radio platform.
Simultaneously, Shae continued hosting SiriusXM NFL Radio nationally, maintaining a presence in the audio space even as her television profile grew.
In October 2021, ESPN relaunched SportsNation on ESPN+, and Shae was named co-host alongside Jordan. The show placed the couple in front of a streaming audience, extending their reach beyond traditional broadcast and radio. It added another format to an already varied résumé.
Her television work continued to expand from there. She earned a full-time anchor position on ESPN’s SportsCenter — the network’s flagship news program — a role that placed her among the most recognizable faces in daily sports broadcasting. During this period, she also served as a regular fill-in host across several of ESPN’s most prominent programs, including First Take, NFL Live, and Get Up. Each appearance on First Take, in particular, was being quietly evaluated by network executives who were already thinking about the show’s future.
Current Role — Host of ESPN's First Take
On October 16, 2025, ESPN officially announced that Shae Cornette would become the permanent host of First Take — the network’s signature morning debate program and one of the most visible daily shows in American sports media.
The announcement came after an extended audition process that followed the departure of longtime host Molly Qerim, whose contract negotiations with ESPN had broken down. Over the course of that tryout period, several broadcasters cycled through the seat beside Stephen A. Smith. Shae was selected. The decision reflected what her ESPN colleagues and the network’s audience had observed across her fill-in appearances: composure under pressure, command of debate, and the ability to draw out strong personalities without losing control of the conversation.
She wrapped up her SportsCenter duties on October 25, 2025, and her first episode as permanent First Take host aired on November 3, 2025. The debut was widely covered across sports media outlets, with commentary focused on her preparation and the dynamic she brought to the desk alongside Stephen A. Smith.
According to ESPN’s official press room biography, her prior experience across both ESPN television and radio — including SportsCenter, college sports coverage, and digital programming — positioned her well for the demands of a live debate format that airs five days a week and commands a large and vocal national audience.
Major Achievements and Milestones
Shae Cornette’s career contains several achievements that stand apart from the ordinary progression of a broadcast journalist. The most historically notable came through her work on ESPN Radio. Together with Jordan Cornette, she became part of the first married couple to co-host a national ESPN Radio show — a milestone the network formally recognized and one that has been consistently cited in coverage of both her career and Jordan’s.
Her appointment as permanent host of ESPN’s First Take in 2025 represents the peak of her broadcasting career to date. The show is ESPN’s most prominent debate program and one of the highest-profile daily platforms in sports television. Taking the seat previously held by Molly Qerim, and doing so after open competition, carries weight in an industry where such opportunities are rare.
Away from broadcasting, Shae co-founded Fashion’s Fight Against Cancer, a charitable initiative dedicated to pediatric cancer research. The organization has raised more than $200,000 — a figure that reflects sustained effort and personal commitment rather than a single fundraising event. The cause is connected to her family’s own experience with illness, giving it a dimension that goes beyond professional philanthropy.
Taken together, her career tells the story of a broadcaster who earned each step — local reporter, radio host, national anchor, and finally the chair of one of ESPN’s most watched programs.
Net Worth and Salary
Shae Cornette’s exact salary is not publicly disclosed. ESPN, like most major American media companies, does not release individual presenter contracts, and Shae has not spoken publicly about her earnings. What is known is the general landscape her compensation exists within.
Salary figures in this section are based on publicly reported industry comparisons and general broadcasting standards. Shae Cornette’s personal salary has not been confirmed by her, her representatives, or ESPN.
Salary Details
Shae Cornette’s exact salary is not publicly disclosed. ESPN, like most major American media companies, does not release individual presenter contracts, and Shae has not spoken publicly about her earnings. What is known is the general landscape her compensation exists within.
Molly Qerim, her predecessor as First Take host, was reported by multiple entertainment and sports media outlets to earn approximately $500,000 annually during her tenure on the show. That figure provides a reasonable reference point for understanding what a First Take host-level contract at ESPN might look like, though it does not confirm what Shae specifically earns.
What can be said with confidence is that her move from SportsCenter anchor to permanent First Take host — announced on October 16, 2025 — almost certainly came with a salary increase. The two roles carry different levels of visibility and responsibility, and First Take is among ESPN’s most commercially significant daily programs. Industry convention strongly supports the expectation that a promotion of that magnitude reflects a meaningful change in compensation.
Net Worth Estimate
Multiple third-party sources estimate Shae Cornette’s net worth at between $1 million and $3 million. That range reflects a career built across several distinct phases — local Chicago television, national radio with SiriusXM, ESPN Radio, and a full-time television role at ESPN that culminated in her appointment as First Take host in 2025.
Each stage of that career contributed to her overall earnings. Local television reporters in major markets like Chicago command competitive salaries. National radio hosts at SiriusXM and ESPN operate at a higher compensation tier. Full-time anchors on SportsCenter earn more still. And hosts of flagship debate programs like First Take sit at the upper end of sports broadcasting pay scales.
Her co-founding of Fashion’s Fight Against Cancer — a charitable venture that has raised more than $200,000 for pediatric cancer research — also speaks to her public profile in ways that tend to correlate with broader professional and commercial opportunities, though no specific earnings from such activities have been disclosed.
The $1 million to $3 million estimate is the figure most consistently cited across credible entertainment and sports biography sources, but it should be understood for what it is: a reasonable inference based on career trajectory and industry standards, not a confirmed financial disclosure.
Personal Life and Family
Shae Cornette keeps much of her private life exactly that — private. What is publicly known, however, tells the story of a partnership that operates on two levels simultaneously: a marriage and a professional collaboration that has produced some of the more notable milestones of her broadcasting career.
Husband — Jordan Cornette
Shae is married to Jordan Cornette, a former college basketball player turned sports broadcaster and analyst. Jordan played basketball at the University of Notre Dame, where he built the kind of competitive athletic background that would later inform his work as a sports commentator. After his playing career ended, he moved into media — eventually becoming a recognizable voice in college basketball coverage and a fixture across several ESPN platforms.
The two met in 2014, when both were working in sports media. Their professional worlds overlapped naturally, and what began as a shared industry became a shared life. They married on June 1, 2019.
Before his time at ESPN, Jordan worked at WCIU-TV in Chicago as a college basketball commentator and anchor, and later joined the ACC Network. He also co-hosted ESPN’s Spain and Company, which began airing from August 22, 2019. His career, like Shae’s, has been built across multiple formats and platforms.
Their professional partnership reached its most publicly noted point when they co-hosted ESPN Radio’s GameDay together on weekends — becoming, in doing so, the first married couple to co-host a national ESPN Radio show. It was a distinction ESPN formally recognized and one that drew attention across the sports media industry. Working that closely with a spouse in a live broadcast environment requires a particular kind of professional discipline, and by all accounts the arrangement worked.
The family is based in Fairfield, Connecticut, where they relocated after Jordan joined ESPN’s headquarters operation.
Children
Shae and Jordan Cornette have two children together. Their first child, a son named Joey Jackson Cornette, was born on April 10, 2021. The name carries personal significance. Joey was named in honor of Jordan’s late brother, Joel Cornette — a tribute that speaks to the weight that loss carried within the family and the way the Cornettes chose to honour it. Joel’s memory has also influenced other aspects of Jordan’s public life, including a charity golf tournament Jordan established in Joel’s name in their hometown of Cincinnati.
Details about the couple’s second child — including name, birth date, and gender — have not been made public. Shae and Jordan have chosen to keep that information private, and it has not been confirmed through any reliable source.
The family also shares their home with a golden retriever named Kobe, named after the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant — a small but telling detail about where sports sits in the Cornette household, even beyond the professional demands of two full-time broadcasting careers.
Shae Cornette Height, Body Measurements and Physical Appearance
Shae Cornette has never publicly confirmed her exact height. No official statement from Shae herself, her representatives, or ESPN has placed a verified figure on record. This is not unusual — many television personalities keep such details private — but it does mean that any specific number circulating online should be treated with caution.
Third-party sources and fan-compiled databases estimate her height at somewhere between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 7 inches (approximately 168–170 centimetres). Some outlying sources push that estimate as high as 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm), though that figure appears less frequently and carries no stronger verification than the others. Based on on-screen appearances and comparisons with colleagues whose heights are publicly known, the 5’6″ to 5’7″ range appears the most commonly cited — but it remains an estimate, not a confirmed fact.
Her build is consistently described as athletic, which aligns with her academic background in kinesiology and her long-standing interest in sport and physical fitness. On camera — whether anchoring SportsCenter, moderating First Take, or appearing at live events — she presents a tall, composed figure that draws viewer attention. Beyond that general observation, no confirmed measurements for weight, dress size, or other physical statistics are publicly available.
FAQ: Everything You Need to Know About Shae Cornette
Key questions answered about the ESPN First Take host and her verified public life
Born Shae Peppler in Chicago, Illinois, in 1986, she graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with dual degrees in broadcast journalism and kinesiology. She built her career across the Big Ten Network, Fox 32 Chicago, SiriusXM NFL Radio, and ESPN Radio before joining ESPN nationally in 2020. She was named permanent First Take host on October 16, 2025, succeeding Molly Qerim.
Third-party sources and fan-compiled databases estimate her height at between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 7 inches (approximately 168–170 cm). Some sources cite figures as high as 5 feet 9 inches, though this appears less frequently and carries no stronger verification. All height figures for Shae Cornette should be treated as estimates only.
The couple met in 2014 while both were working in sports media and married on June 1, 2019. Together they made broadcasting history as the first married couple to co-host a national ESPN Radio show, serving as co-hosts of ESPN Radio's GameDay on weekends. Jordan has also worked at WCIU-TV, the ACC Network, and as co-host of ESPN's Spain and Company. The family is based in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Their first child, a son named Joey Jackson Cornette, was born on April 10, 2021. He was named in honor of Jordan's late brother, Joel Cornette. Details about their second child — including name, birth date, and gender — have not been publicly confirmed by Shae or Jordan.
This estimate is based on her career spanning local Chicago television, national radio at SiriusXM and ESPN, and multiple ESPN television roles culminating in her appointment as permanent First Take host in 2025. The figure has not been officially confirmed by Shae Cornette, her representatives, or ESPN.
She joined ESPN nationally in 2020, initially hosting college sports coverage before becoming a full-time SportsCenter anchor. On October 16, 2025, ESPN announced her as the permanent host of First Take. Her first episode in that role aired on November 3, 2025. She co-hosts the program alongside Stephen A. Smith.
She initially enrolled intending to study marine biology before a professor encouraged her toward broadcast journalism. A pivotal moment came when she submitted a student interview to the Big Ten Network and they aired it — prompting her to switch majors entirely. During her time at Indiana University, she interned at MTV Networks and Showtime Networks in New York and worked at the university's campus TV station, WTIU.
For industry context, Molly Qerim — her predecessor as First Take host — was reported to earn approximately $500,000 annually. Shae's compensation as permanent First Take host is expected to reflect a similar or higher range, given the show's prominence, though no figure has been officially confirmed. All salary figures associated with Shae Cornette are third-party estimates only.
Gallery
