Michael Strahan Biography

Michael Anthony Strahan was born on 21 November 1971 in Houston, Texas. The youngest of six children, he moved to Manheim, West Germany, where his father, Gene Willie Strahan, an US Army major, at the time, was posted.

In his senior year of high school, he returned to Texas. Initially lacking competitive football experience, he quickly adapted to the demands of the game and consequently earned a sports scholarship from Texas Southern University

He began life at Texas Southern University playing defensive end. Throughout his senior year representing the Texas Southern Tigers, Strahan dominated the scrimmage line, blitzing past offensive lines and petrifying their quarterbacks into making mistakes.

His life as a pro footballer began in the spring of 1993 when he was selected by New York Giants in the second round of the NFL draft that year. It took him a few seasons to adapt to the rigors of NFL and become a regular starter for the Giants.

He came into his own in his fifth season in 1997. That year, he registered 14 quarterback sacks, which earned him a trip to the NFL Pro Bowl for that season. The following year, he raked up 15 sacks, and with it another spot in the NFL Pro Bowl and All-Pro team for the second year running.

After a few underwhelming and injury-riddled seasons, Michael Strahan returned to his defensive best in the 2001 campaign with a record breaking 22.5 sacks in that one season.

By 2006, he had amassed 132.5 sacks equaling his tally with Lawrence Taylor for the New York Giants franchise record.

In 2007, he and quarterback, Eli Manning, played a pivotal role in getting the all-important victory in the championship game against an unbeaten New England Patriots side. The Giants lifted their first Super Bowl in over two decades.

The following year he announced his retirement from the NFL on 9 June 2008.

Merely days after his retirement, Fox Network announced on 24 June 2008 that Michael Strahan had been roped in for their pregame show, NFL Sunday.

In 2009, he starred in the Fox sitcom Brothers. However, it was short-lived, with the final episode airing on 27 December 2009

With the departure of long-time co-host, Regis Philbin from Live! with Regis and Kelly, the once pro-footballer was approached to co-host the syndicated show alongside Kelly Ripa. Announced on 4 September 2012, the syndicated morning talk show was rechristened as Live! with Kelly and Michael, and saw an immediate uptick in ratings.

In 2016, Michael Strahan left the show, Live! With Kelly and Michael and joined the team of Good Morning America on a full-time basis. That same year, he was also roped-in to host another of ABC’s game show, The $100,000 Pyramid.

In 2018, he accepted an offer from Fox Network to host the pregame show, Fox NFL Thursday, given the network had already acquired the broadcasting rights for Thursday Night Football.

Michael Strahan’s 2001 season record of 22.5 sacks remains the highest tally ever since the defensive move entered official statistics in 1982. Additionally, his career tally of 141.5 sacks is the fifth highest in NFL history.

In the Sunday game of Super Bowl XLII held in Glendale, Arizona on 3 February 2008, his two tackles and one sack were instrumental in helping his team produce one of the biggest upsets in NFL history. The 17-14 win meant the New York Giants won their first Super Bowl in two decades. For him too, it was the first Super Bowl win as an NFL starter.

He has received many awards and accolades in his playing career, most notably Defensive Player of the Year in 2001 and 2003, and NFL’s 2000s All-Decade Team.

In 2014, he was inducted into the PFHOF (Pro Football Hall of Fame). As a result, he performed the ceremonial coin toss to commence the Super Bowl XLVIII.

During his tenure as co-host for Live! With Kelly and Michael, he twice won the Daytime Emmy.

Michael Strahan is twice married. From his first marriage to Wanda Hutchins (1992-1996) he has a son, Michael and daughter, Tanita. From his second marriage to Jean Muggli, he has twin daughters, Sophia and Isabelle. The couple however, divorced acrimoniously in 2006.

His engagement with Nicole Murphy in 2009 broke down after the couple went their own ways in 2014.

He has undertaken several philanthropic initiatives. These include renovations and restorations of old homes and charity fundraisers. In 2008, he took part in the Nike sneaker design for ID Studio. The proceed from sneaker sales went to the ‘Let Me Play’ campaign of Nike.