Tavis Smiley Biography

Childhood & Early Life

Tavis Smiley was born on September 13, 1964, in Gulfport, Mississippi, to a single woman Joyce Marie Roberts, who was just 18 when she became pregnant. Two years later, Joyce married Emory Garnell Smiley, who was not Travis’s biological father but a U.S. Air Force Officer. Travis grew up in poverty and had a troubled childhood. He later discovered his real father but chose not to reveal his identity due to embarrassment. The Smiley family moved to Bunker Hill, Indiana, when Emory was transferred there for work. Travis attended Bunker Hill’s Maconaquah High School, where he became involved in debating and student government, despite his parents’ lack of support for non-church related extracurricular activities. In seventh grade, Travis and his sister, Phyllis, were accused of being undisciplined at school and were temporarily placed in foster care. It was at the age of 13, after attending a fundraiser for U.S. Senator Birch Bayh, that Travis developed an interest in politics.

Career

After graduating from high school, Travis pursued higher studies in Public Affairs at Indiana University, where he joined the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. However, he left the university in 1988 without the required credits for graduation to work for Tom Bradley. He eventually returned to finish his degree in 2003. Travis’s passion for politics led him to campaign for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council 12 years after finishing university, although he was unsuccessful. In 1996, he became a regular commentator on ‘the Tom Joyner Morning Show’ and started hosting annual town hall meetings called “The State of the Black Union” with Tom Joyner in 2000. These meetings were aired live on the C-SPAN cable television network. Travis also did television broadcasts on networks such as BET, ABC, and CNN from 1998 to 2001. He later hosted his own show, the Tavis Smiley Show, on National Public Radio. In 2004, he began hosting a nightly talk show called Tavis Smiley. Currently, he hosts the Tavis Smiley Show and co-hosts Smiley and West with Professor Cornel West. Travis also founded the Tavis Smiley Foundation in 1999, which provides leadership training and socializing opportunities for young minds.

Major Works

Travis has written numerous non-fiction books that inspire others, including ‘Doing What’s Right’ in 2000, ‘Keeping the Faith’ in 2002, ‘What I Know For Sure’ in 2006, and ‘Fail Up’ in 2011. He also edited a collection of essays by African-American scholars called ‘Covenant with Black America’ in 2006. In collaboration with Cornel West, he wrote ‘The Rich and the Rest of Us’ six years later.

Awards & Achievements

Travis received the NAACP Image Award for best news, talk show, and information series on BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley from 1997 to 1999. He was named one of America’s 50 Most Promising Young Leaders in 1994 and was honored as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2009. He received the Du Bois Medal from Harvard in 2008 and the 2009 Interdependence Day Prize from Demos in Istanbul. Travis was also ranked the number 2 change agent in the field of media, behind Oprah Winfrey, in Ebony Magazine’s Power 50 list. In 2014, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to television broadcast.

Personal Life & Legacy

Travis remains unmarried and fully dedicated to his work. Through the Tavis Smiley Foundation and his programs, he helps people find their true selves and emphasizes that success is not free but available to everyone.

Trivia

• Tavis Smiley is the author of the Youth Survival Manual.
• He has hosted both Republican and Democratic presidential debates.
• He was named one of Time’s 50 Most Promising Young Leaders in 1994 and one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2009.

Net Worth

Tavis Smiley has a net worth of 10 Million USD.