Nischelle Renee Turner was born on February 11, 1975, in Columbia, Missouri, and is an American journalist, television host, and producer. She made history in 2021 as the first Black woman to co-host Entertainment Tonight.
She has won multiple Emmy Awards and continues to lead one of television’s most prominent entertainment news programs.
Who is Nischelle Turner?
Nischelle Turner is an award-winning American entertainment journalist, television host, and producer best known as co-host of Entertainment Tonight.
She joined the show as a correspondent in 2014 and made history seven years later when she became the first Black woman ever to serve as co-host in the program’s four-decade run.
Turner also hosts and produces Secret Celebrity Renovation on CBS and co-hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq alongside Shaquille O’Neal. Her CNN work brought her into living rooms across the country long before her Entertainment Tonight role, covering everything from the Grammy Awards to breaking news stories.
She has been open about her health journey with uterine fibroids, undergoing three surgeries over ten years and sharing her experience publicly to raise awareness, particularly among Black women.
Turner delivered the commencement address at the Missouri School of Journalism on May 18, 2025, returning to the school where she earned her degree to inspire the next generation of journalists.
Early Life of Nischelle Turner
Turner grew up in Columbia, Missouri, where her mother Jacque Turner raised her as a single parent. She credits both her mother and her grandmother with encouraging her to pursue her education despite the family’s modest circumstances.
She attended Rock Bridge Elementary School, then Jefferson Middle School, and later Rock Bridge High School in Columbia. After graduating from high school, she made an unconventional college choice by placing her finger on a map and enrolling at the University of Kentucky.
Turner left the University of Kentucky at the start of her junior year, returning to Columbia with a specific goal in mind.
Her mother had always pushed her toward what she considered the best journalism school in the country: the University of Missouri, which happened to be right in their hometown. Turner enrolled and, despite initially feeling like an outsider among her classmates, pushed through and found her footing.
During her time at Mizzou, she joined the G7, a group of journalism students who worked together closely and supported each other’s growth.
She also worked as a reporter, anchor, and camera operator at KOMU-TV, the university’s NBC affiliate commercial station, which is the only commercial television station of its kind operated by a university in the United States.
Nischelle Turner Age
Nischelle Turner is 51 years old as of 2026, born on February 11, 1975. Her zodiac sign is Aquarius. She graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism in 1998 and began her professional broadcast career that same year.
Nischelle Turner Ethnicity and Nationality
Turner is American by nationality, born and raised in Columbia, Missouri. She is African American.
Growing up in a predominantly small-town environment in mid-Missouri, her identity as a Black woman in journalism has shaped her public advocacy, particularly around representation in media and health issues affecting Black women.
Nischelle Turner Height and Weight
Turner stands 5 feet 7 inches tall, which is approximately 1.70 meters. Her weight is reported to be around 127 lbs, or approximately 58 kg.
She is known for her polished on-screen presence and has spoken about her journey embracing her natural curly hair, encouraging others to do the same.
Nischelle Turner Education
Turner earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and broadcast news from the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri in 1998.
She had first enrolled at the University of Kentucky but transferred back to her hometown after deciding she wanted to attend the best journalism school available.
While at Missouri, she gained hands-on experience at KOMU-TV, working as a reporter and producer before graduating. Those years at the station gave her the practical broadcast skills she carried into her professional career.
Nischelle Turner Career
Early Career in Local Television
Turner’s professional career began in 1998 when she graduated and immediately joined WEHT, the ABC affiliate in Evansville, Indiana, as a reporter and fill-in anchor. That local news role gave her a solid foundation in daily broadcast journalism.
In 2000, she moved to WVUE-TV FOX8 in New Orleans, where she worked as a weekday reporter and weekend anchor. While in New Orleans, she covered a story that would define an early chapter of her career: Hurricane Katrina.
Turner returned to the Gulf Coast shortly after leaving to cover Katrina and its devastating aftermath for Good Day LA. Her coverage of the disaster earned several journalism awards and demonstrated a depth of reporting that went well beyond the entertainment beat she would later become known for.
By 2004, she had moved to Los Angeles, joining KTTV FOX11 as a reporter on Good Day LA and anchor for Good Day LA Weekend. That Los Angeles posting lasted until October 2008 and opened doors to broader opportunities in the entertainment and sports worlds.
Expanding into Sports and Entertainment
Turner joined Fox NFL Sunday as a sideline reporter for national football broadcasts in 2007, a role that reflected her long-standing passion for sports. She covered football, Major League Baseball, and basketball for Fox, showing a range that few entertainment journalists develop.
In 2009, she became the host of Extra on Essence, an online entertainment show spotlighting Hollywood’s most high-profile stars. She also worked as a freelance reporter and host for KNBC in Los Angeles during this period.
Turner joined CNN in December 2011 as a correspondent for Showbiz Tonight in the network’s Los Angeles bureau. She later relocated to New York to contribute to New Day, CNN’s morning program. Her CNN appearances spanned CNN Newsroom, CNN Tonight, and coverage of the Grammy Awards, Golden Globes, and Oscars red carpets.
Entertainment Tonight and Making History
Turner joined Entertainment Tonight as a correspondent in 2014, replacing Rocsi Diaz. She quickly became a fixture on the program and served as weekend co-host while continuing her CNN work.
In March 2021, CBS announced her promotion to full-time co-host alongside Kevin Frazier, who is also Black. That announcement made Turner the first Black woman in the show’s history to hold the co-host position, a milestone she acknowledged publicly by paying tribute to the Black women in broadcast television who had come before her.
She has interviewed some of the biggest names in entertainment and led ET’s coverage of the Grammy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Academy Awards. In 2021, she also made EBONY’s Power 100 list, which recognizes influential Black Americans across industries.
Turner has hosted and executive produced Secret Celebrity Renovation on CBS, a series in which celebrities secretly renovate meaningful spaces for the people who inspired them.
The show ran for multiple seasons and demonstrated her ability to connect emotionally with both subjects and viewers. She also co-hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq alongside basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal.
She has appeared in acting roles as well, including multiple episodes of The Young and the Restless, Torchwood (2011), Supergirl (2015), and American Horror Story.
Nischelle Turner Awards and Recognition
Turner has won multiple Emmy Awards throughout her career. The CBS Paramount press page lists her as an 11-time Emmy Award winner as of 2026.
She was part of the Entertainment Tonight team that won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Personality Daily in both 2024 and 2025, which were historic wins as the first time the award was given in that category. Turner and Frazier also hosted the Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
In 2021, she earned a spot on EBONY’s Power 100 list.
In May 2025, she returned to the Missouri School of Journalism to deliver the commencement address, honoring the school that launched her career.
Is Nischelle Turner Still Married?
Nischelle Turner has never been married. She is currently single and keeps her romantic life private.
Over the years, rumors have linked her to various high-profile figures, including actor Eddie Murphy and rapper Common. Regarding Common, Turner and Common appeared together on The Steve Harvey Show, and there were flirtatious exchanges, but the two never confirmed a relationship. By the time the connection had run its course, Common had moved on to another relationship.
Turner herself has been candid about keeping her personal life out of the public eye, choosing to focus publicly on her journalism, her health, and her work.
Nischelle Turner Net Worth
Nischelle Turner’s estimated net worth is $6 million as of 2026.
Her income comes from her long-running role as co-host of Entertainment Tonight, her work hosting and producing Secret Celebrity Renovation on CBS, her co-hosting of The Big Podcast with Shaq, and her contributions as a CNN correspondent.
Her broadcast career spans nearly three decades, beginning in 1998 in local television markets in Indiana and Louisiana before expanding to Los Angeles and then to national network roles.
She also earns income as a keynote speaker and public personality, traveling from her base in Los Angeles for speaking engagements.
Nischelle Turner Social Media
Turner is active on Instagram at @nischelleturner and on X (formerly Twitter) at @nischelleturner.
She uses both platforms to share professional updates, behind-the-scenes content from Entertainment Tonight, and personal reflections, including posts about her health journey with fibroids.
The Bottom Line
Nischelle Turner made history in March 2021 when she became the first Black woman to co-host Entertainment Tonight in the show’s more than 40-year history, alongside Kevin Frazier. The Entertainment Tonight team also won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Personality Daily in both 2024 and 2025.
Born and raised in Columbia, Missouri, she earned her journalism degree from the University of Missouri in 1998 and built her career the hard way, starting at local stations in Indiana and Louisiana before her Hurricane Katrina coverage elevated her national profile.
She continues to host Entertainment Tonight and The Big Podcast with Shaq, while also speaking openly about her perimenopause journey and her decade-long battle with fibroids, using her platform to encourage other women to seek care.
Her return to the Missouri School of Journalism in May 2025 to deliver the commencement address marked another milestone in a career built on steady, purposeful work.
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