Who is Maria Taylor? A Remarkable Journey to the Center Stage of NBC Sports

Maria Taylor has been a key part of NBC’s Olympic coverage, hosting the Late Night show during the Tokyo 2021 and Beijing 2022 Olympics, and she will continue this role for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Maria Taylor has become a prominent figure at NBC Sports. After leaving ESPN in 2021, she joined NBC and quickly took on significant roles. She is the host of Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports, and also leads the Big Ten College Countdown studio show.

Maria Taylor was born on May 12, 1987, in Alpharetta, Georgia, she extinguished in sports from a young age, particularly in basketball and volleyball. She attended the University of Georgia on an athletic scholarship, where she continued to shine in both sports.

Maria began her broadcasting career with ESPN and the SEC Network, covering a wide range of sports including college football, college volleyball, NBA, NFL, and college basketball. In 2021, she made a high-profile move to NBC Sports, where she now hosts major shows like Football Night in America and Big Ten College Countdown. She has also been a prominent figure in NBC’s Olympic coverage.

She married to Jonathan Lee Hemphill. The couple tied the knot in February 2021 in an intimate ceremony. Before Jonathan, Maria was married to Rodney Blackstock from 2019 to 2021.

Maria and Jonathan have known each other since their high school days. Jonathan is a businessman and art dealer, co-founding an online platform for auctioning art and luxury items. The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Roman Ryan Taylor Hemphill, in December 2023.
 

About her transition from ESPN to NBC Sports.

Maria Taylor’s transition from ESPN to NBC Sports was quite notable and widely covered in the media. After her contract with ESPN expired in July 2021, she joined NBC Sports just a few days later. Her move from ESPN came amidst a high-profile controversy involving a leaked recording of a conversation between her colleague Rachel Nichols and an advisor to LeBron James, where Nichols suggested that Taylor was chosen to host the NBA Finals due to ESPN’s diversity issues.

At NBC, Maria quickly took on significant roles. She made her debut during the Tokyo Olympics, co-hosting the opening ceremony replay and other Olympic coverage. She also became the host of Football Night in America and took on roles in covering the Super Bowl and other major events.

Maria expressed her excitement about the move, highlighting that hosting the Olympics, Football Night in America, and the Super Bowl were dreams she had since starting her career in television. Her transition to NBC has been seen as a significant step in her career, allowing her to take on even more prominent roles in sports broadcasting.