Yvonne Sampson

Yvonne Sampson (born 24 April 1981) is an Australian television sports presenter and commentator.

Yvonne Sampson
Born
Yvonne Sampson

(1981-04-24) 24 April 1981
OccupationTelevision presenter
Years active2005–present
Spouse(s)Chris O'Keefe (m. 2018)

Sampson currently works for Fox Sports. She has previously worked for Nine's Wide World of Sports and was weekend sports presenter for Nine News Sydney.[1]

Early and personal life

Sampson grew up on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia on a farm near Palmwoods.[2] She attended Stella Maris Catholic Primary School at Maroochydore and then St John's College at Nambour.

Sampson is Indigenous Australian heritage, with her paternal grandmother being indigenous.[3]

In April 2017, Sampson announced that she is engaged to Nine News reporter Chris O'Keefe.[4] They married in 2018.

Television career

With a little help of a chance encounter between her taxi-driving father and former NRL player Wendell Sailor, Sampson began her career as a cadet reporter at the Seven Network's regional news service, Seven Local News on the Sunshine Coast working one day a week, while juggling her studies at the Queensland University of Technology and employment with the Eagle Farm Equine Hospital.[5]

Upon completion of her studies, Sampson joined the network permanently as a sports reporter, working throughout the state in cities such as Maryborough, Mackay and Townsville before returning to the Sunshine Coast to also becoming a studio presenter.[6][7]

Near the end of the decade, she was given the opportunity to work for a national bulletin for the first time, joining Sky News as a reporter and presenter.

In 2012, Sampson returned to Queensland, joining the Nine Network in Brisbane. In January 2014, Sampson was offered the opportunity to return to Sydney to be more extensively involved with Nine's Wide World of Sports coverage including presenting the sport on Nine News Sydney.[8]

In 2015 she co-commentated the NRL grand final between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Brisbane Broncos. She is quoted saying that this was the greatest and most challenging assignment she’d had on a football field, due to the emotion and excitement of the ending.[9]

While Sampson was at Nine she hosted Nine's Friday Night Rugby League coverage and was also a sideline commentator for Thursday Night Football and Sunday Football. In September 2015, she hosted Nine's new NRL talk show Footy Classified NRL Finals.

In 2016, she became the host of the Sunday Footy Show, replacing long time host Peter Sterling. The same year, Sampson also became the first woman to anchor the network's State of Origin coverage.

In December 2016, she signed a multi year deal with Fox Sports.[10][11] It was announced that she would host the network's Thursday and Saturday night rugby league coverage and also host a new weekly show called League Life.

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. SteveZ (5 March 2013). "Yvonne set to talk the talk on NRL with league greats". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  3. "Yvonne Sampson reveals Aboriginal ancestry in heartbreaking story". News.com.au. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  4. Amy Price (4 April 2017). "Yvonne Sampson and Chris O'Keefe announce their engagement on the Sunshine Coast". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  5. Daniel Colasimone (29 May 2013). "Two Minutes with Yvonne Sampson". www.theurbanlist.com. The Urban List. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  6. Nathanael Cooper and Mark Chapman (23 January 2008). "Australian TVs Top Hottest Women - part 2". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  7. "Coast's stars came out". Sunshine Coast Daily. 15 October 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  8. "League's leading lady". My Weekly Preview. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  9. "Stories with Yvonne Sampson by Sports BFs: Rugby League Social Club • A podcast on Anchor". Anchor. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  10. Phil Rothfield (28 May 2016). "Yvonne Sampson becomes the first female broadcaster to anchor State of Origin in Australia". The Daily Telegraph (AU). Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  11. Rebecca Wilson, Dean Ritchie, Christian Nicolussi (2 June 2016). "Sport Confidential: Yvonne Sampson's nerves before dazzling State of Origin debut for Channel 9". The Daily Telegraph (AU). Retrieved 8 June 2017.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Media offices
Preceded by
Cameron Williams
Nine News Sydney
sport presenter (Fri & Sat)

February 2016 – December 2016
Succeeded by
Erin Molan
Preceded by
Peter Sterling
NRL Sunday Footy Show host
2016
Succeeded by
James Bracey
Preceded by
Cameron Williams &
Peter Sterling
Nine's rugby league coverage
host

2013–2016
Succeeded by
James Bracey
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