• Lauren Jiggetts is an anchor for WGN News
• She is the daughter of Dan Jiggetts, a former offensive lineman for the Chicago Bears
• She began her career in broadcasting at Channel One News, and has won awards for her work at NBC 5
• She is married to Patrick Donovan and they have two sons
• Lauren's net worth is estimated to be over $2 million and she is active on social media
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Who is Lauren Jiggetts?
Lauren was born in Chicago, Illinois US in 1982, and while the exact date of her birth is not known, she holds American nationality and follows the Christian religion. Lauren is best known for working as an anchor for WGN News.
Early life and education
She spent her childhood in Chicago with her parents Dan and Karen Jiggetts – her father work as a host and analyst for Comcast Sports Net Chicago, so one can say that Lauren inherited her love towards broadcasting from her father – he was also very sportive as he played for the Chicago Bears football club as an offensive lineman from 1976 to 1982.
After she matriculated from Stevenson High School located in Lincolnshire, she enrolled at Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude four years later.
Lauren’s father, Dan Jiggetts
Dan Jiggetts was born in Brooklyn, New York City USA, on 10 March 1954 and is mostly known for his career with the Chicago Bears American Football team.
Dan initially enrolled at Ohio State University, but changed his mind and entered Harvard University instead – he did this to honor his mother’s last wish as she died just four days after he matriculated from Westhampton Beach High School. While at Harvard, Dan played as an offensive tackle for the college team, and was named All-Ivy League three times and All-East two times. He was eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Harvard University for being the first African-American captain of Harvard’s football team, and helped get the team to the Ivy League Championship in 1975.
In 1976, he began playing for the Chicago Bears, in 98 games until 1982 when he went to play for the Chicago Blitz for one season, and then for San Antonio Gunslingers for a season as well – he decided to retire in 1985. He didn’t want to leave the NFL completely, and therefore became a sports analyst for CBS – he was a co-host of “Monsters and Money in the Morning” show in the first half of 2010.
Today, Dan is hosting a couple of shows on the Comcast Sports Net Chicago.
Career
Because Lauren was one of the best students of her class, she had no trouble finding a good job as soon as she got her degree – she began working for Channel One News as their reporter and anchor in Los Angeles. The channel is one of the most watched there and has won numerous awards, so one can easily say that her first job was also one of the best she’s had in her career.
At the same time, Lauren was working for the United Nations, covering breaking national news for them – she was reporting from the Super Bowl, she covered the devastation of Hurricane Isabel, and reported from the NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab.
She then made a big jump from Channel One and the UN to MTV Studios, where she served as part of the anti-discrimination campaign, but didn’t stay long as she soon began working for NBC 5 Chicago as their general assignment reporter, while simultaneously working as an anchor and reporter for WLVI TV station. Lauren won one of the most prestigious awards for the work she did with NBC 5 – an Emmy Award. She is also the holder of several local Emmy Awards, and won the Irv Kupcinet Media Award at the 41 Annual Ed Kelly Foundation Gala in 2015.
She worked for NBC 5 for more than 10 years, and then became part of WGN TV’s team – she left NBC 5 with these words: ‘This was a difficult decision for me to make, but I think it is the right one. I have been with WMAQ for 10 years and have greatly enjoyed my time there. My life has changed dramatically since the day I joined WMAQ and I believe, as hard as it is to leave, this is the right decision for me personally and professionally.’ She is currently working for the WGN TV station as the anchor of their Morning News.
WGN TV station
WGN virtual channel 9 is an independent TV station which operates from Chicago, Illinois – it plays a key role in the Tribune Broadcasting which is part of the Tribune Media. It has offices at 2501 West Bradley Place, and its transmitter is located on top of the Willis Tower in the Chicago Loop.
WGN-TV was the second US TV station to ever become available by satellite transmission to its subscribers throughout the whole nation in 1978. It first aired on 5 April 1948, and goes by the slogans ‘Chicago’s Very Own’ and ‘Where Chicago’s Very Own Play’ which they use for their sports’ channels.
Mystery solved. Shout-out to the weekend team who left their Bluetooth speaker in the studio. By the way- you will need to charge it. ? pic.twitter.com/kdKiS1axkF
— Lauren Jiggetts (@laurenjiggetts) April 8, 2019
Personal life and marriage
Lauren appears to be happily married to Patrick Brian Donovan, as they exchanged their vows on 8 August 2009 at the Village Presbyterian Church in Northbrook in Illinois. Her other half works at Pyramis Global Advisors as their research analyst –the company is part of the Fidelity Investments group based in Smithfield in Rhode Island.
The two met while they were studying at Harvard University and have been close to each other ever since – they are parents to a son named Brendan who was born in November 2015, and another son called Theodore Jiggetts Donovan born in 2018 – ‘Theodore’ means ‘Gift of God’. Both Lauren and Patrick are keeping their personal lives to themselves, and are not sharing much about their life together with the public. They are currently living in Sheffield Neighbors in Chicago, Illinois in a house which is estimated to be worth around $3.6 million. They sold their former home for $1.2 million in 2013, and bought their current residence in the same year.
Likes and other interests
It seems as Lauren inherited more from her father than just her passion towards broadcasting – she is very sportive as well, as she is a good runner. She likes to read in her free time and often goes to visit her family.
Philanthropy
Lauren is always there to help charity organizations and take part in charity events – she was there during the Chicago Polar Plunge which took place on 3 Marc and is organized every year with the goal of supporting over 7,500 Special Olympic athletes.
Appearance and net worth
Lauren is currently 36 or 37 years old – her exact date of birth is unknown. She has long brown hair and brown eyes, while her height and weight are not known.
According to authoritative sources, Lauren’s current net worth is estimated to be over $2 million, and is slowly rising as Lauren is still very active in work.
Social media presence
It is not hard to conclude that Lauren is on several social media platforms – she launched her Twitter account in October 2010, and has so far gathered nearly 13,000 followers and tweeted over 15,700 times. Her Instagram account is followed by almost 8,000 people, while she’s posted around 600 pictures – she has a Facebook page as well which is followed by over 12,000 fans.
Social profile links
Source: IMDb, Wikipedia