Greta Van Susteren

Greta Van Susteren was born on June 11, 1954, in Appleton, Wisconsin. Her father, Urban Van Susteren, was of Dutch descent. He was an elected judge and served as a campaign strategist for US Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy, who was a close friend of her father, had served as the best man at her parents' wedding. Her mother, Margery Conway, was of Irish descent. Greta’s sister Lise is a forensic psychiatrist in Bethesda, Maryland. She was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for United States Senate in 2006. Greta’s brother, Dirk Van Susteren, was a long-time editor of the ‘Vermont Sunday’ magazine.

Greta Van Susteren graduated in 1972 from Xavier High School in Appleton, and in 1976 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she studied geography and got a distinction in economics. She also earned a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in 1979, and a Master of Law from the school in 1982. Stetson Law School has awarded her an honorary doctor of laws degree.

In 1988, she married tort lawyer John P. Coale; they don’t have any children together. Coale was married twice before marrying Greta. They are members of the Church of Scientology. Her husband has battled with throat cancer and has undergone an open-heart surgery. The couple lives in Washington, D.C.

Prior to her television career, Greta Van Susteren served as an adjunct faculty member in Georgetown University Law Center, in addition to her full-time legal career. In 1991, she served as a legal analyst at CNN during the coverage of O. J. Simpson murder trial, which also led to her stint as co-host of the channel’s legal talk show ‘Burden of Proof’ and news program ‘The Point.’ In 1988, she made a celebrity guest appearance on Cartoon Network’s series ‘Space Ghost Coast to Coast.’

When her relationship with CNN began to sour, she left the network in 2002 and joined Fox News Channel. She started hosting the current affairs show ‘On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.’

On September 6, 2016, she left Fox News after serving it for 14 years. However, her departure from the channel was quite messy. She was informed via a courier that she "was being taken off the air" immediately, removing her without giving her a chance to say goodbye to her viewers. It is reported that Rupert Murdoch, the patriarch of Fox's parent company 21st Century Fox, did not like her attempt to renegotiate her contract, asking for a big hike in pay. After her departure, Fox deleted the ‘On the Record’ website, and her Gretawire blog. However, Van Susteren took to Facebook, and explained her exit. The network immediately filled the ‘On the Record’ anchor spot with Brit Hume.

In early 2017, she signed a contract with NBC News to anchor an ET program on its news channel, MSNBC. The program, ‘For the Record with Greta,’ was launched on January 9, 2017. However, within less than six months, on June 29, 2017, she was abruptly let go by MSNBC. Although there had been no warning that she was in trouble, her show had been struggling in the ratings.