Bio
Chris Harrison is an American television host best known for hosting the reality competition television series The Bachelor and its spin-offs The Bachelorette and Bachelor Pad.
Harrison began his television career by covering local sports in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Dallas, Texas native went to Oklahoma City University on a soccer scholarship and then made the natural transition to sportscasting with a local station.
During his six years there, he worked his way up the ranks from part-time sportscaster to weekend sportscaster.
He also had the opportunity to cover hard news stories, including the 1995 tragedy at the Federal Building, an event which profoundly affected his perspective on life and career.
A visit to L.A. in 1999 for an audition for a horseracing network led to a permanent move. Later that year, Harrison landed the job as host of HGTV's Designer's Challenge, which has consistently been one of the network's highest rated shows.
In 2001 he became host of ABC's hit romance/reality series The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
Harrison continues to advance in the entertainment industry through a variety of professional endeavours. He hosted live television coverage of the final championship rounds of The 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee on June 4, from Washington, DC.
Previously, he and Dancing with the Stars' Carrie Ann Inaba co-hosted the TV Guide Network's 2009 Emmy Awards live red carpet coverage, and he continued in those roles for all of the network's red carpet awards coverage for the next two years.
Harrison co-hosted ABC's 2008 American Music Awards Red Carpet Live! with Ms. Inaba. He also hosted Road to the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, ABC.com's daily coverage leading up to the 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards.
He co-hosted E!'s 2006 coverage of the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes, and in 2008 moved to TV Guide Network to not only cover all the major awards shows, but also to host the network's new one-hour weeknight entertainment news show Hollywood 411.
In 2004 he hosted the Miss America Pageant for ABC.
The versatile Harrison has done his fair share of acting as well, having garnered roles in the popular television series Alias, The Practice, Six Feet Under and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
His feature film appearances include Bounce, Showtime and portraying himself in the comedy Date Movie.
In his spare time, Harrison still plays soccer and has become addicted to golf.
He has developed a great appreciation for the weather and lifestyle of Southern California and spends as much time as possible outdoors with his college sweetheart and wife, Gwen, his son Joshua and daughter Taylor.