Tavis Smiley Net Worth 2024, Age, Height, Bio, Birthday, Wiki!
Explore Tavis Smiley net worth, age, height, bio, birthday, wiki, and salary! In this article, we will discover how old is Tavis Smiley? Who is Tavis Smiley dating now & how much money does Tavis Smiley have?
Tavis Smiley Biography
Tavis Smiley is one of the most popular and richest Radio Host who was born on September 13, 1964 in Gulfport, Mississippi, United States. Awarded with a prestigious award African American talk show host on public radio. Her films include Tavis Smiley as well as Barack Obama: The Power of Change.
He was profiled by He was featured in Oprah Winfrey‘s magazine when they said he was a change agent.’s magazine in which they stated that the man was an agent for change.
Tavis Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, the son of Joyce Marie Roberts, a single woman who first became pregnant at age 18. On September 13, 1966, his second birthday, his mother married Emory Garnell Smiley, a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force. A few years later Tavis learned the identity of his biological father, whom he identifies in his autobiography, What I Know For Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America, only as “T”.
In 1982 Smiley enrolled at Indiana University Bloomington (IU). Because his parents refused to complete financial aid papers, Smiley entered the university with only $50 and a small suitcase. Administrators let Smiley complete the paperwork to become a full-time student. The summer after his first year, Smiley worked, attended summer classes, and lived off campus with Indiana Hoosiers men’s basketball players, then being coached by Bob Knight. Smiley was accepted into the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity during his second year, and became business manager of his dormitory, a member of the student senate, and director of minority affairs. After his friend Denver Smith was killed by Indiana police officers who claimed to have acted in self-defense, Smiley helped lead protests to defend Smith, who he believed had been wrongfully killed. Those protests led him to a work-study internship at the office of Bloomington Mayor Tomilea Allison, where he was paid $5 an hour. Smiley wrote letters to local residents, researched for Mayor Allison, and helped write position papers on local issues. In his autobiography, Smiley says that a deputy mayor caught him systematically adding extra hours to his time sheets, illegal behavior that could have seen him charged with a felony and expelled from college, but instead of pressing charges, Mayor Allison allowed him to work all of the hours for which he had already been paid, and did not tell other people what he had done.
His closest cousins are T.D. Jakes and James Wheaton.
| Name | Tavis Smiley |
| First Name | Tavis |
| Last Name | Smiley |
| Occupation | Radio Host |
| Birthday | September 13 |
| Birth Year | 1964 |
| Place of Birth | Gulfport |
| Home Town | Mississippi |
| Birth Country | United States |
| Birth Sign | Virgo |
| Full/Birth Name | |
| Parents | Joyce Marie Roberts, Emory Garnell Smiley |
| Siblings | Not Available |
| Spouse | Not Known |
| Children(s) | Not Available |
Ethnicity, religion & political views
Many peoples want to know what is Tavis Smiley ethnicity, nationality, Ancestry & Race? Let's check it out! As per public resource, IMDb & Wikipedia, Tavis Smiley's ethnicity is Black. We will update Tavis Smiley's religion & political views in this article. Please check the article again after few days.
Smiley twice considered quitting college, first during his junior year, and then after finishing his internship with Mayor Bradley. Bradley persuaded Smiley to return to college. He took the LSAT twice because, he thought he “didn’t do great the first time,” and he “did a little better” the second time; he intended to apply to Harvard Law School. Instead, Smiley did not graduate from college at all, because he failed a required course in his senior year, and “did poorly in several other courses,” which meant he could not complete his degree on time; rather than stay for an extra term, he chose to leave IU and move to Los Angeles, where he had been promised a job. Following a hiring freeze by the government of Los Angeles, Smiley served as an aide to Mayor Bradley until 1990. A 1988 article in the Los Angeles Times identified Smiley as “a Bradley administrative assistant who works in South Los Angeles”. In 2003, Smiley officially received his degree from Indiana University in public affairs.
Tavis Smiley Net Worth
Tavis Smiley is one of the richest Radio Host from United States. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Tavis Smiley's net worth $10 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)
At high school, the student participated in the student council and debate team.
He was presenter and the executive producer on BET Tonight for many years.
Tavis Smiley (/ˈ t æ v ɪ s / ; born September 13, 1964) is an American talk show host and author. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up in Bunker Hill, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of Los Angeles.
| Net Worth | $10 Million |
| Salary | Under Review |
| Source of Income | Radio Host |
| Cars | Not Available |
| House | Living in own house. |
Campaigning for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in 1991 against incumbent Ruth Galanter, Smiley finished fourth among 15 candidates. He became a radio commentator, broadcasting one-minute daily radio segments called The Smiley Report on KGFJ radio. With Ruben Navarrette Jr., Smiley co-hosted a local talk show in Los Angeles where his strongly held views on race and politics, combined with his arguments regarding the impact of institutional racism and substandard educational and economic opportunities for inner-city black youth, earned him attention at the Los Angeles Times. His commentaries focused on local and national current-affairs issues affecting the African-American community. For six months, Smiley worked on a community news program on a local cable network, and spent six more months working on television in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Smiley became a radio commentator in 1991 and, starting in 1996, he hosted the talk show BET Talk (later renamed BET Tonight) on Black Entertainment Television (BET). After Smiley sold an exclusive interview of Sara Jane Olson to ABC News in 2001, BET declined to renew his contract that year. Smiley then began hosting The Tavis Smiley Show on National Public Radio (NPR) (2002–04) and hosted Tavis Smiley on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on weekdays and The Tavis Smiley Show on Public Radio International (PRI) from 2004 until 2017, when he was dismissed for having sexual relationships with subordinates.
Height, Weight & Body Measurements
Tavis Smiley height 6 ft 1 in Tavis weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.
| Height | 6 ft 1 in |
| Weight | Not Known |
| Body Measurements | Under Review |
| Eye Color | Not Available |
| Hair Color | Not Available |
| Feet/Shoe Size | Not Available |
During the first semester of his junior year, Smiley was under academic probation; he blamed his extracurricular activities for interfering with his studies. When Smiley visited Los Angeles to attend a national student leaders’ convention, the cousin of his roommate introduced Smiley to football star Jim Brown. Brown introduced Smiley to fellow football player George Hughley, who worked for Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley and connected Smiley to Mayor Bradley’s staff. Every week after meeting Bradley’s staff, Smiley wrote a letter to the mayor’s office asking for an internship, and once flew to Los Angeles to appeal. However, by summer he received a letter from the city stating that all internship positions were filled. Smiley then handwrote a letter to the mayor that he said represented his feeling “from the heart,” and Bradley called Smiley to say that he had a position available for him. Although it counted for college credit, the internship was unpaid, so the Bloomington Community Progress Council funded Smiley with $5,000 for living expenses in Los Angeles, and Brown allowed Smiley to live as a houseguest in September 1985. Starting the following month, Smiley lived in the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity house at the University of Southern California. At City Hall, Smiley worked at the Office of Youth Development on the 22nd floor.
Also in 1996 Smiley began hosting and executive producing BET Tonight (originally BET Talk when it first premiered), a public affairs discussion show on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network. He interviewed major political figures and celebrities, and discussed topics ranging from racial profiling and police brutality to R&B music and Hollywood gossip.
Who is Tavis Smiley Dating?
According to our records, Tavis Smiley is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Tavis Smiley’s is not dating anyone.
Relationships Record: We have no records of past relationships for Tavis Smiley. You may help us to build the dating records for Tavis Smiley!In 1994, Time named Smiley one of America’s 50 Most Promising Young Leaders. Time would later honor him in 2009 as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World”. In May 2007, Smiley gave a commencement speech at his alma mater, Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana (the university recently honored Smiley by naming the atrium of its School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) building, The Tavis Smiley Atrium).
Facts & Trivia
Tavis Ranked on the list of most popular Radio Host. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in United States. Tavis Smiley celebrates birthday on September 13 of every year.
In 1996 Smiley became a frequent commentator to the Tom Joyner Morning Show, a nationally syndicated radio show broadcast on black and urban stations in the United States. He developed a friendship with host Joyner.
Is Tavis Smiley show still on?
| Occupation | Talk show host author |
| Years active | 1991–present |
What is Tavis Smiley famous for?
Tavis Smiley, (born September 13, 1964, Gulfport, Mississippi, U.S.), American talk show host, journalist, and political commentator. Smiley grew up near Kokomo, Indiana, and attended Indiana University at Bloomington but left in 1988 to work for Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.
What happened to Tavis?
Tavis Smiley makes comeback bid after PBS firing over workplace misconduct allegations. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three years after workplace misconduct allegations cost veteran TV and radio talk-show host Tavis Smiley his job and a national forum, he’s ending his silence.
What happened to Tabitha Smiley?
PBS Host Tavis Smiley Suspended After Sexual Misconduct Investigation. Upon the verdict on Wednesday, PBS issued a statement saying: “We are pleased with the jury’s decision. … PBS expects our producing partners to provide a workplace where people feel safe and are treated with dignity and respect.
You may read full biography about Tavis Smiley from Wikipedia.
