{{short description|American television news anchor|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Infobox person | name = Heather Childers | image = Heather Childers on Morning Live.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Childers in 2012 | birth_name = Heather Star Childers | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1969|01|07}}<ref name="chobs">{{cite news|last=Sandford|first=Jason|url=http://ashvegas.com/former-wloser-heather-childers-lands-job-at-fox-news-channel-as-nyc-reporter-and-fill-in-anchor/|title=Former WLOSer Heather Childers lands job at Fox News Channel as NYC reporter and fill-in anchor|work=Ashvegas|date=October 23, 2010}}</ref> | birth_place = [[Charlotte, North Carolina]], U.S. | education = [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) | occupation = Television [[news presenter|news anchor]] and [[correspondent]] | years_active = 1992–present }}
'''Heather Star Childers'''<ref name="MNCLP">{{Cite web |url=http://www.missnc.org/locals/mecklenburg/ |title=Miss Mecklenburg County |access-date=April 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515181514/http://www.missnc.org/locals/mecklenburg/ |archive-date=May 15, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> is an American television news anchor. She was a former anchor of the first hour of ''[[Fox & Friends First]]'' for [[Fox News|Fox News Channel]], and worked for the organization from 2010 until 2020.
==Early life and education== Childers was born in [[Hartsville, South Carolina]], and grew up in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]].<ref name=Janes>Théoden Janes, [https://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/tv/article178132046.html You'd have to wake up pretty early to compete with Fox News' Heather Childers], ''Charlotte Observer'' (October 10, 2017).</ref> She graduated from [[Myers Park High School]]<ref name=Janes/><ref name=Weekend>{{cite news|title=Childers named weekend anchor on Fox News|url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/article9066065.html|newspaper=Charlotte Observer|date=August 22, 2011}}</ref> in 1987.<ref name="chobs"/> Childers attended the [[University of North Carolina at Charlotte]], then graduated from the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] with an undergraduate degree in English.<ref name="chobs"/>
==Television news career== Childers began her professional career at [[WCNC-TV]] in Charlotte as a producer and reporter in the early 1990s.<ref name=Janes/> She worked for television news stations in [[Albany, Georgia]]<ref name=Janes/> and then [[Asheville, North Carolina]],<ref name=Janes/> at [[WLOS]], the ABC affiliate there.<ref name=Weekend/> She moved to [[Spectrum News North Carolina|News 14 Carolina]] in 2002 as an anchor.<ref name=Janes/>
Childers came to Fox News Channel in November 2010 as a reporter, and became an anchor for ''[[America's News Headquarters]]'' in August 2011.<ref name=Weekend/> She later became an early-morning host at Fox;<ref name=PartWays>{{cite news| last=Ryu |first=Jenny |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2020/07/23/heather-childers-fox-news-part-ways-following-coronavirus-scare/5492465002/ |work=USA Today |date=July 23, 2020 |title=Fox News parts ways with 'Fox & Friends First' host Heather Childers after COVID-19 scare}}</ref> beginning in 2017, she was the host of the first installment of ''[[Fox & Friends First]]'', from 4-5 a.m.<ref name=Janes/>
In April 2012, Childers posted a [[Twitter]] message linking to an article from a fringe website promoting [[Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories|"birther" conspiracy theories]]; the article suggested that the [[Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign|Barack Obama campaign]] had threatened the life of [[Chelsea Clinton]] if the Clintons spoke of "Obama's birth certificate or lack thereof." In response to criticism of the tweet, Childers said that she was "asking for opinion."<ref name=Tweet>{{cite web|title=Fox News' Heather Childers Tweets Link To Article: 'Did Obama Campaign Threaten Chelsea Clinton's Life?'|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/heather-childers-controversial-twitter-fox-news_n_1400942|publisher=Huffington Post|date=April 3, 2012}}</ref> Like other Fox News hosts, Childers has questioned the [[scientific consensus on climate change]], [[Media coverage of climate change|suggesting on air]] in 2016 that "the science is still in question."<ref>{{cite news|last=Rutenberg|first=Jim|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/01/business/media/whats-next-at-fox-news-with-ailes-out-and-murdoch-in.html|title=What's Next at Fox News, With Ailes Out and Murdoch In?|work=The New York Times|date=August 1, 2016}}</ref>
In March 2020, Fox News took Childers off the air after she came to work and appeared on air while ill during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. The network confirmed the termination of her contract in July 2020, after several months where she did not appear on the network. Childers had tested negative for COVID-19, and tweeted at the network several times to ask to return to her position.<ref name=PartWays/><ref name=Feldman>{{cite web|last=Feldman|first=Kate|title=Fox News host Heather Childers, who went to work sick during coronavirus pandemic, has 'parted ways' with network|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-fox-news-heather-childers-coronavirus-20200723-ww2fpb76zjacvnmcz54o4q7lrm-story.html|work=New York Daily News|date=July 23, 2020}}</ref> In November 2020, she began co-anchoring ''American Agenda'' alongside [[Bob Sellers]] on [[Newsmax TV]].<ref>{{cite tweet |user=HeatherChilders |url=https://twitter.com/HeatherChilders/status/1328163318197071874 |title=I'm back Join me tomorrow on @Newsmax from 2-4pm with @BobSellersTV! Watch live, set your DVR or watch online! Can't wait to see you| number=1328163318197071874 |date=November 15, 2020 |accessdate=November 19, 2020 |via=Twitter}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Childers, Heather}} [[Category:1969 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Charlotte, North Carolina]] [[Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni]] [[Category:American television reporters and correspondents]] [[Category:American television news anchors]] [[Category:Fox News people]] [[Category:Newsmax TV people]] [[Category:University of North Carolina at Charlotte alumni]] [[Category:People from Hartsville, South Carolina]]