Josh Elliott: 11 Facts About The Former GMA Host

For many years, Josh Elliott was a big deal in broadcast journalism and certainly in the world of sports journalism. But after a handful of job switches in a very short amount of time — a couple of which occurred alongside plenty of drama — Elliott pretty much dropped off the face of the Earth. Okay, that might be an overstatement, but the fact is that the journalist has not had a public-facing job since 2019. Elliott does not even have updated social media accounts, so beyond the slivers his wife Liz Cho puts out on her X, he is very much living off the (Instagram) grid. This is not necessarily a bad thing, however, as long as Elliott finds a quiet life with his family fulfilling.

Plenty of folks wonder what happened to the one-time media staple, and to examine that means to also trace the rest of Elliott's life leading up to his departure from the news business. Elliott grew up playing sports — water polo, basketball, swimming, even ballet at one point — but he did not always plan on a career in sports journalism. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a degree in English literature, Elliott worked in film and television production before deciding to go back to school to study journalism (he has a master's degree from Columbia). Elliott then had a string of good luck career-wise that eventually landed him on national television. Here are 11 facts about the former "GMA" host Josh Elliott.

Like many Americans, Josh Elliott has a complicated family tree that does not resemble the nuclear model with two married, cisgender, heterosexual parents and two or three kids at home. For Elliott, his story differs from this model in a couple of ways, beginning with his parents' divorce when he was 12. Elliott's father came out as a gay after the divorce, but barely got to enjoy living in his truth, as he died a few years later when Elliott was 15. The journalist has also made it clear in interviews that his stepfather, Leo Baefsky, was a pivotal person in his early life, having stepped in as a parental figure and role model. As Elliott told The Big Lead in 2009, he and his stepdad bonded over racquetball and a shared love of the Dodgers.

Adoption is also a key part of Elliott's story, as both he and his two siblings were adopted at birth. Two weeks after Baefsky's 2009 death, Elliott received a letter from a woman claiming to be his half-sibling, Ashley — which led to a whole new set of family members entering his life. "Life as I knew it changed forever. There were two pictures included, of Ashley and her mother, Susan. Her mother... my birth mother. I spent hours (and hours; thanks to Verizon for understanding) on the phone with both the next few days, having a gap I never knew existed, suddenly filled," Elliott explained to The Big Lead. Elliott developed an ongoing relationship with both women after that initial call.

It was while working at ESPN that Josh Elliott first gained mainstream notice, but most people only remember him as the host of SportsCenter, the network's flagship program. Elliott began hosting "SportsCenter" each weekday morning in August 2008, helping to launch the morning version alongside co-host Hannah Storm after having already worked on the weekend version of the show. But Elliott's relationship with ESPN dates back years before that, and it crosses many of the brand's different entities. In terms of television, he first appeared on ESPN as a contributor in 2004, providing commentary for shows such as "Around The Horn," "Rome Is Burning," and "Cold Pizza." Elliott was working elsewhere when he made his ESPN debut.

In June 2005, Elliott became the host of ESPN's nighttime series "Classic Now," which he originated and hosted until its end in March 2006. He has also anchored coverage on ESPNews, but his contributions were by no means limited to television. For years, Elliott was a regular contributor to both ESPN.com as well as ESPN The Magazine, a publication that existed from 1998 to 2019 and which helped establish the brand's dominance in sports journalism. "Because of this company's willingness to take flyers on the unknown, I somehow snuck past the guard-shack one day, five years ago, and began what has been as satisfying a half-decade as I might have ever hoped," Elliott wrote in a March 2011 goodbye post for the ESPN Front Row blog.

Though he had worked at his school's newspaper during his undergraduate years, Josh Elliott had no idea he wanted to be a professional sportswriter at the time. A couple of years working in media production led him to Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, and he landed a job at Sports Illustrated no long after graduating with his master's degree. "The day I was hired at SI will always be one of the great and memorable days of my life. Sports Illustrated is why I went to Columbia," he told The Big Lead. SI has been described as Elliott's "dream job" on numerous occasions.

In a testament to not only Elliott's work ethic but also his chutzpah, the star was able to catapult himself from a temporary summer job to a full-time gig within only 17 days at the magazine. He spent the next six years covering the NFL, while providing coverage in other areas such as golf, surfing, and snowboarding during football's offseason. While at Sports Illustrated, Elliott interviewed some of the biggest athletes of all time — Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and more. He also established himself as a leading voice in sports journalism, which helped him score gigs providing commentary on ESPN. That, in turn, led to a full-time gig at ESPN once executives noticed his skills.

It is customary for journalists to do a lot of job hopping, particularly those who wish to get to the national level. Josh Elliott already had a huge platform as a host of SportsCenter, but ESPN is still a niche channel that pales in comparison to the big broadcast networks. It makes total sense that Elliott chose to leave his role at ESPN for a coveted position at ABC News, even if it meant moving away from his beloved sports beat. He landed at "Good Morning America," which has more famous alumni than ESPN as an entire network. The list of former "Good Morning America" anchors includes journalistic legends like Diane Sawyer, Charles Gibson, Joan Lunden, and David Hartman.

Elliott was hired as a newsreader by "Good Morning America" after Juju Chang moved to another ABC News program, "Nightline." His work was not restricted to "GMA," however, as Elliott produced content for all ABC News broadcasts and digital platforms. He played an integral role in the network's coverage of massive events in the early 2010s, including natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy, violent tragedies like the Sandy Hook school shooting and Boston Marathon bombing, and political events such as the War in Afghanistan. At ABC News, Elliott interviewed everyone from the then-sitting president George W. Bush to singer Nick Jonas, who hilariously partnered with the creators of "Punk'd" to prank Elliott.

For a while, Josh Elliott was a big name at ABC. In addition to his "Good Morning America" duties, Elliott hosted the network's Tournament of Roses Parade and at times anchored evening coverage, such as when he covered a record-breaking Niagara Falls tightrope walk. In fact, Elliott was so popular that the ABC News division even enlisted him to help launch a one-hour extension of "GMA" called "Good Afternoon America." The 2012 series — co-hosted by Lara Spencer, known for her work on HGTV as well as "Good Morning America" — was not long for this world. It began in July 2012 and aired only temporarily as a spot filler until Katie Couric's (also short-lived) ABC talk show debuted in September 2012. Still, it shows the faith that ABC had in Elliott as a presenter.

Things got messy well before the end of Elliott's time at "Good Morning America," with tabloids focused on his budding relationship with fellow journalist Liz Cho and rumors flying about his diva-like attitude and behavior at work dating back to 2012. While he did not leave ABC until 2014, it could hardly be described as a huge shocker. It can, however, be described as very ugly. After accepting an offer from NBC Sports, Elliott was not even on hand to say goodbye on air when "Good Morning America" returned the next week — leading to plenty of coverage about salary negotiations gone wrong and interpersonal conflict. That Elliott joined ABC's biggest rival network was also a factor.

Josh Elliott had a variety of fatherly models to draw from due to his own complex family dynamics. His birth father wanted nothing to do with him, even after Josh reconnected with other birth relatives — his birth mother contacted the man on Josh's behalf — and his adoptive father died when Josh was a young teen. Luckily, he was incredibly close with his stepfather, who saw him through some of life's formative experiences. Josh's stepdad was tragically not around to serve as a paternal figure when the journalist became a dad himself, as he died the same year Josh's daughter Sarina Elliott was born. Sarina is Josh's only biological child, born while he was married to first wife Priya Narang Elliott, but he also has a stepdaughter, named Louisa Simone, through his marriage to current wife Liz Cho.

Though Josh Elliott has no active social media accounts, the sports aficionado bragged about his daughter playing soccer with a cute photo and caption on X, formerly known as Twitter, back in 2014 (via Daily Mail). He also discussed Sarina in a 2009 interview with The Big Lead, shortly after her birth. "Sarina is the greatest gift I'll ever get, every day. I never knew I could cry like this, every day. Life's perfect for her existence, every day," he said. "As someone who was adopted (as was my brother and sister), I was totally unprepared for the all-consuming bond of blood-relation, of someone sprung from...me."

In his 2009 interview with The Big Lead, Josh Elliott acknowledged that his life has been oddly structured in that the highest of highs have often occurred either before or after the lowest of lows. "My life, however extreme, has always pendulum-swung wildly...and it did again," he said. In that case, Elliott was referencing how his stepfather died shortly after the birth of his daughter, and how he was contacted by birth relatives shortly after the death. Elliott experienced yet another big pendulum swing when his beloved mother Toni Jordan died in 2015, three weeks before he was set to marry. "It was a massive, brutal moment. My immediate reaction was, 'How am I going to make it to [tomorrow]?'," Elliott said in a People interview. "The wedding was very far from my thoughts."

Jordan died unexpectedly after going into septic shock, and it left Elliott with a difficult choice to make — cancel his upcoming wedding to reporter Liz Cho or continue on as planned. The couple ultimately chose to marry, with the encouragement of their loved ones. Cho's co-maids of honor, her daughter and Elliott's daughter, sweetly placed flowers on an empty chair in honor of Jordan.

After leaving ABC for their rival network NBC in April 2014, Josh Elliott floundered at his new home. Part of this certainly could have been a mismatch between what he was hired to do and what he actually wanted to do, if tabloids can be believed. Some outlets reported that Elliott was making a behind-the-scenes play for Matt Lauer's job at "Today," "Good Morning America's" closest competition. Because of a noncompete clause, however, Elliott was not even allowed to guest on any NBC News entities when he started at the network. "Now Josh is going to NBC Sports," an insider told Page Six. "He can't work for the NBC News division for six months because of the non-compete terms of his ABC contract. But he is still pushing hard, aiming for Matt Lauer or Bob Costas' job."

This ulterior motive for joining NBC may have been based upon speculation, but it only increased when Elliott began making guest appearances on "Today" in the months after his noncompete clause ended. But this was year's before Matt Lauer's career demise, and Elliott was never tapped for "Today." He worked on "Sunday Night Football" and horse racing coverage for the Triple Crown but was not given much else to do in the Sports division. Not even a stint hosting "Dateline: Escape" could make Elliott want to stay at NBC, and he asked to be released from his contract at the end of 2015, less than two years in.

While Josh Elliott's marriage to Liz Cho is still going strong, his professional relationships have continued to lack longevity. After working at both ABC and NBC, Elliott moved on to his third and — as of date — final major broadcast network role at CBS. It is assumed that Elliott left NBC Sports without a new gig in hand, which is supported by the months-long gap in his resume. But in March 2016, it was announced that Elliott inked a deal with CBS News to work on their digital streaming news network, CBSN. He was hired as the digital network's lead anchor (CBSN eventually became a part of CBS All Access, which then became Paramount+).

Elliott did not even have enough time to make a butt-mark in his anchor chair before things turned sour at CBS, and the way that his February 2016 firing happened was also quite bizarre. After reportedly hearing he might move into a field correspondent role for CBS TV, Elliott announced on-air that he was leaving CBSN's anchor desk effective immediately. He did so without the knowledge or approval of executives, who were then forced to rush out a statement confirming Elliott would be reporting for various CBS News entities, including TV but also CBSN. Those in charge saw Elliott's unsanctioned announcement as a red flag, however, and he was blindsided when they fired him that weekend — more than a year before his contract's April 2018 expiration date.

Josh Elliott was never again tapped to anchor a news program after his CBS fiasco. After all, there are only so many times a journalist can leave a major network on poor terms before people realize there is only one common denominator. Elliott's seven-year run through ABC to NBC to CBS effectively marked the end of his anchor career, but CBSN was not his final journalism job. The year after his firing, the star was chosen to host a live event for National Geographic, called "YELLOWSTONE LIVE." "YELLOWSTONE LIVE" was a four-day event wherein seven teams spread out in the wilderness to track wildlife and cover the ecosystem of America's oldest national park, founded in 1872. As host, Elliott filmed in a studio set up at West Yellowstone's Bar N Ranch, a Montana property located six miles from the park's west entrance.

"As the host of National Geographic's "YELLOWSTONE LIVE," I will help navigate viewers through this beloved destination filled with unparalleled wildlife and extraordinary natural wonders," Elliott said in a statement (via Broadway World). "During this four-day extravaganza atop one of the world's most active supervolcanoes, geysers could erupt or wild grizzlies and bison could cause traffic jams in a moment's notice...nothing is off the table on our trek across America's national treasure." Dozens of cameras were set up to capture content for the August 2018 broadcast, capturing even the most remote parts of Yellowstone, which spans over 2.2 acres and is home to more than 300 animal species.

While "YELLOWSTONE LIVE" was undeniably a very cool project, most journalists cannot get by working only a couple of weeks a year (if we are being generous and including prep time). Elliott did not score another gig until 2019, and that gig was his final public-facing job. For this role, Elliott headed to Fox, one of the remaining two broadcast networks (the other is the CW) where he had not burned bridges. As host of "First Responders Live," Elliott entered a whole new realm — reality television — but because the show was centered on emergency workers, it maintained a less salacious tone than a lot of reality fare. Therefore, it paired well with Elliott's previous hosting and anchor duties.

"FIRST RESPONDERS LIVE provides a raw, in-depth look at the brave American heroes, including firefighters, police officers, EMS technicians and first responders, who put their own lives on the line as they race into danger to save others," read the show's description. "Each week, the show embeds cameras in multiple cities across the country, to document a night in the life of these units. Elliott will provide live analysis and commentary, with help from a team of experts, as the show follows first-person accounts of the action." Despite being executive produced by television legend Dick Wolf — the mastermind behind "Law & Order," "FBI," and the "One Chicago" franchise — "First Responders Live" aired only one brief season. It is unknown what the former "GMA" anchor has been doing for work since.