Yvonne Sampson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yvonne Sampson
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Yvonne Sampson
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| Occupation | Television presenter |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Spouse(s) | Chris O'Keefe (m. 2018) |
Yvonne Sampson is a well-known Australian television sports presenter and commentator. She currently works for Fox Sports. Before that, she worked for Nine's Wide World of Sports and presented sports news for Nine News Sydney on weekends.
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About Yvonne Sampson
Early Life and Family
Yvonne Sampson grew up on a farm near Palmwoods on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Her family has Indigenous Australian heritage, which comes from her paternal grandmother.
In April 2017, Yvonne announced that she was engaged to Chris O'Keefe. He is also a reporter for Nine News. They got married in 2018.
Starting Her TV Career
Yvonne's journey into television began with a lucky meeting. Her dad, who was a taxi driver, met Wendell Sailor, a former rugby league player. This meeting helped Yvonne start her career.
She began as a cadet reporter at Seven Local News on the Sunshine Coast. She worked there one day a week. At the same time, she was studying at the Queensland University of Technology. She also worked at the Eagle Farm Equine Hospital.
After finishing her studies, Yvonne joined the Seven Network full-time. She worked as a sports reporter in different cities like Maryborough, Mackay, and Townsville. Later, she returned to the Sunshine Coast to also become a studio presenter.
Working at the Nine Network
In 2012, Yvonne moved back to Queensland and joined the Nine Network in Brisbane. In January 2014, she got a chance to move to Sydney. This allowed her to be more involved with Nine's Wide World of Sports. She also presented the sports news on Nine News Sydney.
In 2015, Yvonne made history by co-commentating the 2015 NRL Grand Final. This was a big rugby league game between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Brisbane Broncos. She said it was one of her most exciting and challenging jobs because of how emotional and thrilling the game was at the end.
While at Nine, Yvonne hosted the Friday Night Rugby League coverage. She was also a sideline commentator for Thursday Night Football and Sunday Football. In September 2015, she hosted a new NRL talk show called Footy Classified NRL Finals.
In 2016, Yvonne became the host of The Sunday Footy Show. She took over from the long-time host, Peter Sterling. In the same year, she became the first woman to host the network's State of Origin coverage. State of Origin is a very important rugby league series.
Moving to Fox Sports
In December 2016, Yvonne signed a new deal with Fox Sports. It was announced that she would host their Thursday and Saturday night rugby league coverage. She also started hosting a new weekly show called League Life.
In June 2021, Yvonne joined the panel as the new host of the Fox League show, NRL 360. She took over after Ben Ikin moved to the Brisbane Broncos.
