Jessica Tarlov is the liberal voice at a mostly conservative table on Fox News, and lots of people want a quick, reliable summary of who she is. This article gives you her age, family, schooling, career and money facts, and it tells you which details are confirmed and which are only estimates. It also covers why her name is showing up in searches this week: her first book just came out.
Background: Who Is Jessica Tarlov?
Jessica Tarlov is an American political strategist and television host. She was born on March 9, 1984, in New York City. Today she is a rotating co-host of The Five, the weekday Fox News show that airs from 5 to 6 p.m. Eastern. On that panel she is the person who argues the Democratic side, usually against several conservative co-hosts.
Her road to television did not start in a studio. She trained as a researcher. She spent more than five years at Schoen Consulting, where she worked as a Democratic pollster and helped clients shape their messages. After that, she became Vice President of Research and Consumer Insight at Bustle Digital Group, a media company, where she studied younger audiences.
Fox News made her a contributor in 2017. In January 2022, Variety reported that Fox was adding her and two other liberal voices to the lineup around The Five. Since then she has become one of the better-known Democratic faces on cable news. She also co-hosts a podcast called Raging Moderates with New York University professor Scott Galloway.
People search for her “Wikipedia” page because they want the short version of all this: birth date, family, degrees and job titles in one place. Her Wikipedia entry lines up with the Fox News biography and with her own social profiles on the basic facts, and that is what we used here.
Latest Update
The biggest story around her right now is her first book. I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends was published by Random House with a release date of September 15, 2026. Tarlov announced it on X in April 2026, saying it answers the question she hears most often: how does she do it, night after night, while outnumbered? The book mixes her own life stories with some social science and gives readers tools for talking with people who see the world differently.
Publisher pages show praise from Scott Galloway, Katie Couric and her co-host Dana Perino. Her publisher’s site also lists book-tour events at bookstores, including stops in San Diego and Washington, D.C. Fox News has also run an excerpt on its opinion page in which she writes about getting things wrong and why admitting that makes debates better.
Date mismatch to know about: The publisher and Tarlov’s own post give September 15, 2026. One Amazon Canada listing shows October 13, 2026. We treat the September date as correct because it comes from her and her publisher, but the Canadian date is unexplained.
She is also in the news for TV moments. In the past day, entertainment sites reported on an exchange in which she surprised Bill Maher with a statement about Democrats, and on a segment in which she pushed back on a conservative activist who said the mainstream media is unfair to the political right. These are ordinary talk-show news items, not major life events.
Rumor check: We searched for anything serious tied to her name, such as a death, arrest, scandal, health problem, job loss or breakup. No credible source reported any of these. If you see a claim like that on social media, treat it as unconfirmed until AP, Reuters, Variety or Fox News says it is true.
Full Profile
Family and Early Life
Tarlov grew up in Tribeca, a neighborhood in lower Manhattan. Her parents worked in film. Her mother, Judith Roberts, is a screenwriter, and her father, Mark Tarlov, is described by Wikipedia as an attorney and film producer. She has a younger sister, Molly Tarlov, who works as an actress.
Career Path
Her work history runs in a clear line. First came academic research. Then came political consulting and polling at Schoen Consulting. Then came corporate research at Bustle Digital Group. Then came Fox News, first as a contributor in 2017 and later as a rotating co-host of The Five. She also appears across Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network programs, and she was part of the network’s coverage of the 2024 election season. In 2024 she added the podcast Raging Moderates, according to IMDb. In 2026 she added author to her list of titles.
Age
She was born on March 9, 1984. That makes her 42 years old as of September 20, 2026.
Religion
Wikipedia says she is of Jewish descent, citing a published profile. We could not find a source where she describes her own religious practice, so how religious she is personally is unconfirmed.
Spouse/Partner
Tarlov has been married to Brian McKenna since 2021, according to Wikipedia and IMDb. Details such as the wedding date, place and his job were not found in a reliable source, so those are unconfirmed.
Children
The couple has two children. Tarlov’s Instagram and X bios call her “Cleo and Teddy’s mom,” so those appear to be the children’s names. Some websites say she has two daughters, but we did not find a solid source for the children’s genders or ages, so that part is unconfirmed.
Net Worth
No official figure exists. Celebrity Net Worth puts her at about $4 million. Other sites give a range of $3 million to $5 million. Reports about her Fox News pay disagree with each other, from a few hundred thousand dollars up to $2 million a year. Because those numbers come from estimate sites and not from her or Fox, treat all of them as unconfirmed.
Parents
Her parents are Mark Tarlov and Judith Roberts (Judith is her mother’s maiden name, per Wikipedia). Mark Tarlov worked as a lawyer and film producer, and Judith Roberts is a screenwriter.
Height
Many websites list her at 5 feet 11 inches (about 180 cm). We could not find this in Fox News, Wikipedia or another top source, so the height is unconfirmed. Weight and body measurements on gossip sites are guesses, and we left them out.
Education
Tarlov earned a B.A. in history from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. She then went to the London School of Economics and Political Science. Wikipedia lists a master’s degree in public policy and administration, a research master’s in political science, and a doctorate in political science and government. Her dissertation looked at whether scandals change how members of parliament do at the ballot box. Fox News confirms the two master’s degrees and the Ph.D.
Hometown/State of Origin
She was born and raised in New York City, in the state of New York. Her family lived in Tribeca, Manhattan.
Official Social Media Links
Follow her on X: @JessicaTarlov (about 292,000 followers when checked)
Follow her on Instagram: @jessicatarlov (about 248,000 followers when checked)
Her network profile: Fox News biography page
Professional profile: LinkedIn
Quick Table
| Full name | Jessica Tarlov |
|---|---|
| Born | March 9, 1984, New York City (confirmed) |
| Age | 42 (as of September 20, 2026) |
| Job | Rotating co-host of The Five, Fox News; podcast co-host; author |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Brian McKenna (married 2021) |
| Children | Two (names appear in her bios; genders and ages unconfirmed) |
| Parents | Mark Tarlov and Judith Roberts |
| Sibling | Molly Tarlov |
| Education | Bryn Mawr College (B.A.); London School of Economics (master’s degrees and Ph.D.) |
| Religion | Jewish descent per Wikipedia; personal practice unconfirmed |
| Height | About 5 ft 11 in (unconfirmed) |
| Net worth | Estimated $3 to $5 million (unconfirmed) |
| Book | I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends (September 15, 2026) |
Key milestones: Fox News contributor in 2017. Rotating co-host of The Five by 2022. Raging Moderates podcast in 2024. First book released September 2026.
Reader Questions (FAQ)
How old is Jessica Tarlov?
Jessica Tarlov is 42 years old as of September 20, 2026. She was born on March 9, 1984, in New York City.
Who is Jessica Tarlov married to?
She is married to Brian McKenna. The two wed in 2021, and they have two children. Little else about him is publicly confirmed.
What is Jessica Tarlov’s net worth?
Estimate websites put her net worth between $3 million and $5 million, with Celebrity Net Worth saying about $4 million. Neither she nor Fox News has confirmed a number, so it is only an estimate.
Is Jessica Tarlov a Democrat or a Republican?
She is a Democrat. Fox News describes her as the network’s liberal voice on The Five, and she used to work as a Democratic pollster.
What college did Jessica Tarlov go to?
She earned a history degree at Bryn Mawr College. She then earned two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Is Jessica Tarlov a permanent co-host of The Five?
Fox News lists her as a rotating co-host of The Five, not a fixed one. She appears often, and she is joined on the panel by Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, Jesse Watters and Emily Compagno.
What is Jessica Tarlov’s new book about?
I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends came out September 15, 2026. It is part memoir and part guide to arguing about politics and values without ruining relationships.
What is Jessica Tarlov’s podcast?
Her podcast is Raging Moderates, which she co-hosts with Scott Galloway. The show argues that the political center matters for American democracy.
Wrap-Up
Put simply, Jessica Tarlov is a New York-born researcher who turned a doctorate and a polling career into a seat on one of cable news’ most-watched shows. The confirmed facts are easy to list: she was born March 9, 1984, she studied at Bryn Mawr and the London School of Economics, she joined Fox in 2017, and she married Brian McKenna in 2021. The softer facts, such as height, net worth and religious practice, come mostly from estimate sites and stay unconfirmed here.
What makes her interesting is the job itself. Most people avoid arguments with relatives. She does hers on live television, in front of millions, and she has now written a book about how she keeps her cool. Whether you agree with her politics or not, her main pitch is practical: listen first, use facts, and keep the relationship.
If you are checking her out because of the news this week, the answer is simple. Nothing alarming has happened. She has a new book, a busy podcast and a few viral TV clips. We will update this page when a credible source confirms anything new. Until then, the safest move is to check her Fox News page and her verified X and Instagram accounts for anything fresh.
Thomas Andrew is the founder of Odubio.com, a digital platform sharing inspiring biographies, news, and stories about global icons and achievers.