Facts About Tucker Carlson, The Controversial Former Fox News Firebrand

If Tucker Carlson ever had any doubts about his career path, all he had to do was look to his father as an example. Growing up, the Fox News star watched as his dad, Dick Carlson, navigating the professional world as a media executive, working as the director of Voice of America and as the CEO of The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Clearly having an in within the journalism industry, Tucker Carlson attended Trinity College and studied history — sort of. In an interview with the Columbia Journalism Review, Tucker revealed that he could typically be found drunk while in undergrad, though he did manage to graduate in 1991. Marrying his wife, Susan Andrews, shortly thereafter, Tucker turned his focus to his career and originally pursued avenues in intelligence.

Jumping into the journalism world wasn't his first thought. The CNN alum originally applied to the CIA, but he was eventually turned down. Thinking that the news industry would be a good fit, Tucker's father gave him a piece of his mind when ruminating about the professional decision. "You should consider journalism," Dick Carlson said. "They'll take anybody."

From there, Tucker Carlson landed his first media job at Policy Review, working as a fact-checker. "I ended up working for this magazine because the standards are so low," he told the Columbia Journalism Review of his very first gig.