Shirley Strawberry was born on July 28, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois.
She is an American radio personality, author, and television producer best known as co-host of the nationally syndicated Steve Harvey Morning Show.
Who is Shirley Strawberry?
Shirley Strawberry has spent more than three decades in radio broadcasting. She is best known for co-hosting The Steve Harvey Morning Show alongside Steve Harvey.
The nationally syndicated program reaches millions of listeners each week across dozens of markets.
Strawberry also created and hosts the Strawberry Letter segment, a listener advice feature that later became its own podcast. Beyond radio, she has worked as an author and television producer.
Steve Harvey has publicly called her “the best voice in radio,” a nickname that has followed her throughout her career.
Early Life of Shirley Strawberry
Shirley Strawberry grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She developed an early interest in broadcasting and communication while still a young girl in the city.
Music and radio played a large role in her upbringing.
That early fascination with on-air voices eventually pointed her toward a career behind the microphone. By the 1980s, she was working professionally in Chicago radio.
Shirley Strawberry Age
Shirley Strawberry is 71 years old as of 2026, born on July 28, 1954. Her zodiac sign is Leo.
She has remained active on national radio well into her seventies, a rarity in a field often driven by younger hosts.
Strawberry is 5 feet 7 inches or 170 cm or 1.7 meters tall and weighs around 75 kg or 165 lbs.
Shirley Strawberry Ethnicity and Nationality
Shirley Strawberry is American. She is Black American and has spoken openly on air about issues relevant to Black women and families.
Her Chicago upbringing shaped much of the perspective she later brought to her radio work.
Shirley Strawberry Career
Early Career in Chicago and Los Angeles
Shirley Strawberry began her radio career in the mid-1980s at Chicago’s WCGI-FM. There, she co-hosted The Doug Banks Show for several years.
By the early 1990s, her growing popularity caught the attention of programmers at 92.3 The Beat, KKBT-FM, in Los Angeles.
That move to Los Angeles introduced her to Steve Harvey. From 2000 to 2005, she co-hosted Harvey’s local morning show, which became the number-one program in the Los Angeles market.
National Syndication and the Strawberry Letter
The Los Angeles show aired its final local broadcast on May 23, 2005. That October, Premiere Networks relaunched the program as The Steve Harvey Morning Show in national syndication, with Strawberry continuing as co-host.
The show grew to reach nearly eight million weekly listeners across more than sixty markets, making it the top-rated urban morning program in the country.
During this period, Strawberry launched the Strawberry Letter segment, in which she reads and responds to listener-submitted stories about relationships, family, and personal struggles. The segment became one of the show’s signature features and later expanded into its own daily podcast.
For her work on the program, Radio Ink has repeatedly named her one of the “Most Influential Women in Radio.” In 2018, the Alliance for Women in Media honored her with a Gracie Award in the National Radio Co-Host category.
Books, Acting, and Producing
In April 2011, Strawberry published her first book, The Strawberry Letter: Real Talk, Real Advice, Because Bitterness Isn’t Sexy, built around the themes of her radio segment. The book earned her an NAACP Image Award for Best New Author.
She also appeared as herself in the 2009 film Madea Goes to Jail.
Strawberry has additionally worked behind the scenes in television production. As of 2026, she continues as co-host of The Steve Harvey Morning Show and still hosts the Strawberry Letter podcast.
Shirley Strawberry Awards and Recognition
Shirley Strawberry has been named one of Radio Ink’s “Most Influential Women in Radio” on multiple occasions. She won a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media in 2018 for National Radio Co-Host.
Her book The Strawberry Letter earned her the NAACP Image Award for Best New Author.
These honors span both her broadcasting work and her writing career.
Shirley Strawberry Husband
Shirley Strawberry married Earnest Williams, also known publicly as Ernesto Williams, in January 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. The wedding received significant coverage at the time as a celebration within the radio and entertainment community.
Years later, the marriage became the subject of serious legal scrutiny. In 2024, Fulton County prosecutors indicted Williams on 39 counts of fraud under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, accusing him of scamming at least 25 victims out of more than $750,000 between 2009 and 2022.
Prosecutors have alleged that Williams married Strawberry while still legally married to another woman, and that he used the relationship to appear more credible to his alleged victims.
News outlets covering the case, including WSB-TV, have reported that there is no indication Strawberry was involved in or aware of the alleged scheme.
In early 2026, prosecutors sought to add new charges, including rape and sexual battery, to the existing case against Williams.
As of mid-2026, Williams remained in custody in Fulton County with no trial date set. Strawberry is described in the coverage of the case as estranged from Williams.
Shirley Strawberry Daughter
Shirley Strawberry has a daughter named Sheridan from an earlier relationship. Sheridan has appeared alongside her mother on social media over the years.
Shirley Strawberry Net Worth
Shirley Strawberry’s estimated net worth is $5 million as of 2026.
Her income comes primarily from her long-running role on The Steve Harvey Morning Show, along with book sales and speaking engagements.
Shirley Strawberry Social Media
Shirley Strawberry is active on Instagram and Facebook under the handle mygirlshirley, where she posts about her life, career, and the Steve Harvey Morning Show.
Her Instagram account features updates from her radio work alongside lifestyle content.
She also has a public Facebook page under the same handle.
The Bottom Line
Shirley Strawberry helped build The Steve Harvey Morning Show into the top-rated syndicated urban morning program in the country after joining Steve Harvey as co-host in 2000.
Her Strawberry Letter segment, launched during the show’s national run, grew into a standalone podcast and a bestselling book.
She got her start in Chicago radio in the 1980s before moving to Los Angeles, where she was introduced to Harvey. Her 2011 book earned her an NAACP Image Award for Best New Author.
Strawberry remains on the air as of 2026, continuing to co-host the morning show and the Strawberry Letter podcast even as her personal life has drawn separate news coverage tied to her estranged husband’s legal case.
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