Who is Lisa Ann Russell?
Born on March 21, 1972 in Sterling, Illinois, USA, Lisa Ann Russell is a former model as well as a former actress, but perhaps best known as the wife of television personality Jeff Probst. Her husband is known as the host of the American version of “Survivor”, one of the most popular reality television series in American history.
The Wealth of Lisa Ann Russell
As of mid 2020, Lisa Ann Russell’s net worth is estimated to be over $1 million earned through success in her various endeavors, working on numerous modeling and acting projects during her childhood.
Jeff Probst and Lisa Ann Russell: Married! Survivor host Jeff Probst and actress Lisa Ann Russell have the…
Posted by Rania Bayoumi On Sunday December 11, 2011
She is likely benefiting from her husband’s success as Jeff has an estimated net worth of over $50 million, earned through his years of success in “Survivor” and other television programs.
Life and career
Growing up in Sterling, Lisa Ann aspired to a career in the entertainment industry at a young age. Later her family moved to Chicago, Illinois where she would complete her high school education. After graduating from college, she moved to California where she enrolled in college while also looking for opportunities.
During her studies, she experienced her first work as a professional model, which eventually led her to work at the Revlon company, known for its products focused on cosmetics, including skin care and related products such as fragrances.
She worked with the company for many years and then became interested in working as an actress. Her first job was as a guest on the show “Saved by the Bell: The College Years” where she would meet her first husband Mark-Paul Gosselaar. Later, she appeared in movies like “Twisted Love” and “Kounterfeit”.
Husband – Jeff Probst
Jeff grew up in Bellevue, Washington State, where he attended nearby Newport High School (NHS). After graduating from college, he enrolled at Seattle Pacific University where he became interested in a career in television.
After graduating, he got his first job at the Boeing Motion Picture/Television studio, where he mainly worked on various marketing videos; he handled the production of said videos and even narrated some of them.
After this work, he ventured into more hosting related work, first on the FX music series “Sound FX” along with actor Orlando Jones. He also worked on the show “Backchat”, in which he read and responded to on-air letters along with two other crew members. The show was later cancelled, with FX dropping the similarly gimmicked shows.
He later admitted that many of the show’s segments were fabricated, as viewers eventually stopped sending in letters, leading to a drought.
In 1998, he joined VH1 as the host of the program “Rock & Roll Danger!”, an adaptation of the show “Jeopardy!” but with its primary focus on music. While working in this show, he was also a correspondent for the “Access Hollywood” program, and during this time he attracted some attention, even being named as one of the most beautiful people of 2001.
Survivor
Probst achieved international fame after the creation of the show”Survivor”, an adaptation of the Swedish program “Expedition Robinson”.
He hosted the show featuring a large group of strangers trapped in a remote location, trying to survive and become the last person to pass various challenges, often making them immune from being voted out of the group. The winner of each season would get $1 million.
For most of its run, “Survivor” has been cited as one of the top shows of its season and became a hit in the US. Considered one of the best shows of the 2000s, it was nominated for several awards, including the Emmys – Probst even won an Emmy Award for his hosting work. The show has been running continuously for 40 seasons, with the latest iteration being “Survivor: Winners at War”.
The show’s production has been over delayed due to the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, which has affected many parts of the world.
Other Efforts – Jeff Probst
Aside from his work on “Survivor”, Jeff has also acted as a celebrity guest on many game shows, making the transition from host to contestant following his rise to fame with the celebrated franchise. One of the shows he appeared in was “Celebrity Jeopardy!”, a celebrity edition of the popular game show. He remains the host of “Survivor” because he believes it is special and because of the fame and income it has brought him. In 2008, he worked on the pilot for the “Live for the Moment” program, but it was not picked up by any network.
In 2011, he made a guest appearance on the sitcom “How I Met Your Mother,” before venturing into directing work on “Kiss Me,” starring Sarah Bolger and John Corbett. The following year, he was hired to host a daytime talk show that would become “The Jeff Probst Show”, which lasted one season but was canceled due to low ratings. Some of his latest appearances include guest roles on “Life in Pieces” and “Two and a Half Men”. He too entered into a partnership with the publisher Scholastic for the “Stranded” book series, which follows high school students as they become stranded on a deserted island.
Private life
Lisa Ann married actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar in 1996, three years after they met on the set of “Saved by the Bell: The College Years”. They remained together for 15 years and had two children together but eventually divorced, the details of which have not been made public, but were separated during the last few years of their marriage. During this time, she met and started a relationship with Probst, and they later got married in 2011. In 2017, rumours spread that she asked her husband to quit his hosting job at “Survivor” because they didn’t need the money. She never confirmed whether the rumors were true and preferred to stay away from the press.
