Who: A former CNN anchor, Hemmer now delivers the news on Fox, where he serves as co-anchor of America's Newsroom on weekday mornings.

Backstory: The son of a mattress executive, Hemmer was a childhood jock and Catholic schoolboy in his native Cincinnati, and started his career on the sports desk at a small CBS affiliate in Ohio after graduating from college. When he realized it would be close to impossible to land a job covering international news for a major network with his credentials, he headed off on a year-long trip around the world which he paid for himself, filming dispatches from Asia and the Middle East for the Cincinnati station where he'd worked previously. The gamble paid off. After returning to the U.S., he assembled the choice clips into a piece called "Bill's Excellent Adventure," and the program ended up winning two regional Emmys and attracting interest from CNN.

Hemmer was hired as an anchor in 1995, and went on to host American Morning opposite Soledad O'Brien until 2005. Then CNN president Jonathan Klein informed Hemmer that they planned to move him from his morning anchor job to Washington where he'd be a White House correspondent. Hemmer regarded the offer as a demotion—he also said he had no interest in leaving New York behind—and quickly made his escape plans. Hemmer landed at Fox in August of 2005, serving as weekday co-anchor of America's Newsroom with Megyn Kelly.

Kelly landed her own show in February 2010, but Hemmer continues to co-anchor America's Newsroom. (He was paired with Martha MacCallum.) He's expected to remain at Fox News for the foreseeable future: According to the Washington Post, Hemmer recently signed a "multi-year, multimillion-dollar contract" with the cable network.

For the record: Don't be fooled by the youthful looks: Hemmer's in his mid-40s. But he's always attracted legions of fans: In 2003, New York once described him as either "the next Scud Stud or the next network news icon," and he continues to generate a following—some of his admirers, many of whom are liberal, even turn on Fox News to see him—and swooning fans also post drool-y messages about Hemmer on message boards like "Hemmerobilia."

Personal: Hemmer is single. (He was rumored to be dating fellow Fox Newser Kimberly Guilfoyle once upon a time.) He lives in a lower Fifth Avenue penthouse and has a weekend home in Sag Harbor.

No joke: Hemmer did his own makeup on the set of American Morning, explaining, "At that hour, I don't really like people touching my face."

Vital Stats


Full Name: William George Hemmer
Date of Birth: 11/14/1964
Place of Birth: Cincinnati, OH
High School: Elder High School
Undergrad: Miami University
Residences: Manhattan (Greenwich Village); Sag Harbor, NY
Filed Under: Media, Television

[Photo via AP]