Charissa Thompson

Charissa Thompson is co-host of FOX NFL Kickoff on Fox Sports, and a host of Netflix’s brand new competition show, Ultimate Beastmaster. Prior to her current role on Fox Sports, Thompson was the co-host of FS1’s Fox Sports Live since its inception in 2013. Previously, she worked at ESPN where she co-hosted ESPN2’s SportsNation along with Marcellus Wiley.

Thompson had joined ESPN in September 2011 as the co-host of ESPN2’s Numbers Never Lie and, after frequent guest appearances on SportsNation, she moved in the permanent co-host role in June 2012. Prior to joining ESPN, Thompson covered the NHL for Versus from 2010-11, including the 2010 All-Star Game and Stanley Cup Finals.

A Seattle native who attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, Thompson moved to Los Angeles following graduation to accept a position in the aforementioned human resources department at FOX Sports.

After completing her daily duties in HR during the standard work day, she made her way into the network’s highlights department for a crash course on how to cut and organize game clips and also log video tape. Discovering a continued interest in TV production, she applied for and received a production assistant position at FOX Sports Net Rocky Mountain in 2007. While in Denver, she was given her first on-air opportunity as a fill-in host for the channel’s Saturday evening Colorado Rockies all-access show.

Showing an almost instant comfort level in front of the camera, Thompson was approached by FOX executives about a role on the network’s nationally syndicated Best Damn Sports Show Period that was filmed back in L.A. For the next two years, she was a regular host on the show, while also making spot appearances as a sideline reporter for both the NFL on FOX and the Big Ten Network’s Game of the Week.