Jillian Reynolds Biography

Jillian Barberie Reynolds (born September 26, 1966), best known by her former name Jillian Barberie, is a Canadian actress, television hostess, known for appearances on Fox Sports as the weatherperson on Fox NFL Sunday in the early to mid-2000s.

Early life

Reynolds was raised Jillian Warry in Burlington, Ontario after being adopted soon after her birth. Later in life after finding her biological parents she learned she was born to a native Irish mother and native Lithuanian father who had both immigrated to Canada and later went on to marry and raise Jillian's two sisters. She went to Assumption Catholic Secondary School and then went on to graduate from Mohawk College (Hamilton), with a diploma from its two-year program in broadcast journalism. After completing her diploma, she worked for a variety of television stations, including The Weather Network in Montreal, WSVN in Miami and KTTV in Los Angeles (WSVN and KTTV are FOX affiliates).

Career

Reynolds' screen presence has earned her roles on several television dramas including Clueless, V.I.P. and Melrose Place, as well as comedic turns on the sitcom Yes, Dear and the sketch comedy series MADtv. She hosted the reality television show EX-treme Dating. In 2000, she was hired to present the national weather segment of Fox Sports Fox NFL Sunday pregame show, working opposite Curt Menefee, Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw. As a result of her scratchy gravel-laced voice and affable "one of the guys" on-camera personality, Reynolds became a national figure and earned significant fan interest in the male-dominated sports demographic, and several spots for Prestone antifreeze that aired during NFL game broadcasts.

In addition to Reynolds' work on Good Day L.A., she worked on the national version of the show Good Day Live. However, she was ultimately fired from that show, ending her tenure there on June 4, 2004.

She served as the weather girl and entertainment reporter for Fox Sports during the 2002 Super Bowl, 2005 Super Bowl, and the 2008 Super Bowl. In 2005, she was Regis Philbin's co-host for his New Year's Eve special on Fox. She has appeared in Maxim magazine twice. In 2006, Reynolds participated as a contestant on the Fox reality television show Skating with Celebrities, partnered with professional skater John Zimmerman and came in second place. She was an ice skater in her childhood. Beginning in November 2006, she became the co-host of KTTV's That's So Hollywood with fellow KTTV/KCOP personality, Mark Thompson.

In August 2008, Reynolds began appearing in NutriSystem commercials with former NFL players Dan Marino and Mike Golic; in the ad, Reynolds claims to have lost over forty pounds after the birth of her daughter.

Reynolds is also the host of American Idol Extra on Fox Reality Channel. She interviews the eliminated Idol that week and other guests who appear on the show. She also appears alongside her husband, Grant Reynolds, in Fox Reality Channel"s original series, Househusbands of Hollywood.

Personal life

Reynolds works for the prevention of cruelty to animals and has nine pets of her own"all of whom she has adopted from shelters. She has said that she believes her "adoptive" nature is due to the fact that she herself was adopted.

Reynolds was married to former Major League Baseball player Bret Barberie from 1996 to 2002.

In her backyard she married former Marine sniper turned actor Grant Reynolds in a private ceremony on July 8, 2006. She initially stated that she was legally changing her name to Jillian Reynolds, but keeping Barberie as her professional surname. Since then, she has chosen to use Reynolds as her surname on Fox NFL Sunday while continuing to use Barberie in the NutriSystem commercials"until April 2009, when she began using Reynolds in those ads.

In December 2006, People magazine said Reynolds was pregnant with her first child, due July 7. She officially announced her pregnancy the morning of December 18, 2006, during the broadcast of Good Day L.A. Reynolds took three-month maternity leave from the show beginning June 22, 2007. On July 9, an announcement on Good Day L.A. stated that she had given birth to a baby girl, Ruby Raven Reynolds, on July 6, 2007. The baby weighed 6 lbs. and 12 oz. On July 6, 2009, she announced on Good Day LA that she was pregnant with her second child. She gave birth to a baby boy, Rocco Rio Reynolds on January 11, 2010. The newborn weighed 7 lbs 8ozs and was 20½ inches long.

On March 15, 2013 Jillian announced that she and her husband Grant Reynolds were separating.