Ginger Zee Biography
Ginger Zee (born; Ginger Renee Zuidgeest) is an American media personality serving as the chief meteorologist for ABC News. She also hosts an ABC News original digital series “Food Forecast.” She is also a New York Times best-selling author.
Ginger Zee Age
Zee was born on January 13, 1981 in Orange, California, U.S.A.
Ginger Zee Height
She stands at a height of 5 feet 7 inches tall.
Ginger Zee Ethnicity
Ginger belongs to Dutch ethnicity.
Ginger Zee Education
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology and a major in both mathematics and Spanish from Valparaiso University. She also served as an adjunct professor at the University from 2008-2011.
Ginger Zee Family
Ginger is the daughter of Dawn (Hemleb) and Robert O. “Bob” Zuidgeest. She has two brothers, Sean and Walter. Her mother is a neonatal nurse practitioner.
Ginger Zee Husband
Zee is married to Ben Aaron (Benjamin Aron Colonomos) since 2014. Ben is a media personality who serves as a features reporter for the PIX11 Morning News on WPIX-TV. He previously co-hosted the nationally syndicated TV talk show ‘Pickler & Ben’ with country artist Kellie Pickler.
Ginger Zee Children
Ginger and Ben are parents to two sons, Adrian Benjamin Colonomos born in December 2015 and Miles Macklin born in February 2018.
Is Ginger Zee Pregnant Again
As of 2020 Ginger is not pregnant. In November 2019 she shut down pregnancy speculations after a Twitter user tweeted at her, “Did you announce another pregnancy and I missed it. Gold dress shows it. Congrats.”
She however sarcastically replied, “Yes! I’m due in a month!!! So glad you asked… just kidding. That’s called a woman who just went on 11 planes just last week, didn’t work out, needs new spanx and had two children. HAPPY TUESDAY!”
Yes! I’m due in a month!!! So glad you asked.
Just kidding — I’m not pregnant. That’s called a woman who just went on 11 planes just last week, didn’t work out, needs new spanx and had two children. HAPPY TUESDAY! https://t.co/KhOhqOmPXM
— Ginger Zee (@Ginger_Zee) November 26, 2019
She also commented on another user who apologized for jumping into conclusion where she touched on her past battle with an eating disorder.
“Wish it didn’t affect me but I’ll probably be even harder on myself — anorexia is a difficult disease but I am recovered and these types of comments make me rely heavily on my therapy and self confidence I’ve been working on for years.”
Guilty….Sooo sorry Ginger.. watching in MCO….told the wife “C’mere c’mere Ginger is Showing she gotta be preggars..” ?. Won’t jump to conclusions again, ‘less you tell us….forgive me?
— Steve Robbins (@Dlret1) November 26, 2019
Ginger Zee ABC News
Ginger is a certified broadcast meteorologist serving as chief meteorologist at ABC News. She reports on the nation’s weather on “Good Morning America” and across ABC News broadcasts and digital platforms. She previously served as the meteorologist for “Good Morning America Weekend.”
She has covered almost every major weather event and dozens of historic storms. She broadcasted from the devastated Jersey Shore during Hurricane Sandy, the Colorado floods and wildfires, and covered the aftermath from tornados in Moore and El Reno, Oklahoma.
In 2013, she covered extreme weather conditions ranging from the Boston blizzard to the record-breaking heat in Death Valley. In 2016, Zee covered Hurricane Matthew and its path along the east coast.
Prior to joining ABC News, she was a meteorologist at NBC station WMAQ-Channel 5 in Chicago from 2006-2011, also filling in for several NBC and MSNBC News programs. Before that she worked at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, MI where she part of the Storm Team 8, also covering the environment, science and the impact of weather throughout West Michigan.
She began her career at WLAV FM/ WXMI in Grand Rapids, Michigan before joining WEYI NBC 25 in Flint, MI where she served from 2003-2005.
Ginger Zee Salary
Her annual salary is $500,000.
Ginger Zee Net worth
She has an estimated net worth of $3 million.
Ginger Zee Books
- Natural Disaster
- Chasing Helicity
- Into The Wind
- Chasing Helicity: Through The Storm
Ginger Zee Dancing With The Stars
Ginger competed on Dancing With The Stars season 22 where she was paired with professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy. The duo placed third.
She suffered a pelvic injury prior to the final show during rehearsals for a contemporary routine. At the time she told ABC News that after feeling a “lower back spasm” at home that “takes your breath away,” she continued to rehearse.
“By Wednesday, I went to see a physical therapist for the show, Gina [Minchella], and she said my pelvis was forward and an inch off. I came back the next day, and [my pelvis] was backward and an inch the other way. My pelvis was just moving all over. My pelvis is very loose and unstable…because I just had a baby.”
Ginger Zee Anorexia
Ginger has talked about her battle with anorexia which she says she developed at the age of 12. She said she was lucky to have her mother as an advocate who went after it aggressively. She entered therapy and was taken on a tour of an in-patient treatment center by her mother.
“There were girls who were on their way to death,” Zee says. “It was shocking. It didn’t make me better right away, but I knew I had the great support of my family, and the fear factor was there.”
Ginger Zee Suicide Attempt
In 2017 during an exclusive interview with PEOPLE magazine Zee revealed that at the age of 21 she tried to commit suicide. She locked herself in the bathroom and took every pill she could find in her medicine cabinet. Her then roommate and ex-boyfriend realized what she’d done and got her to the hospital.
Ginger Zee Depression
After the attempted suicide she was diagnosed with depression which she opens about at length in her book, “Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I Am One.”
In September 2020, during the Suicide Prevention Week, she took to Instagram where she shared a throwback photo of herself with a lengthy caption where she said the photo was taken not long after her second suicide attempt and no one at work knew as she was good at hiding her mental health issues. She urged to seek help.
“This photo always breaks my heart. This was during my first real job on tv at WEYI. This wide, forced smile was not long after my second suicide attempt. Of course no one at work knew. I was a master at hiding my mental health issues. Especially from myself.
It is #suicidepreventionweek and I often wonder if there is anything I could go back and say to myself the morning I tried to take my own life. I don’t know if I would have been ready to hear it – I don’t know if this message will help — but I feel it is my duty to talk about it — because I was lucky. Beyond the luck, I had the support and financial ability to get the help I needed to treat my mental health issues. Not everyone has that.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, take it seriously. Act immediately. Don’t be afraid to go to the hospital to get urgent help and they can get you to the right type of therapy or medication you may need.
For parents and young folks — @childmindinstitute has some great info and support.”
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