Early Life
Hannah Storm was born Hannah Lynn Storen on June 13, 1962, in Oak Park, Illinois. Her father, Mike Storen, was the commissioner of the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1973 to 1974, and he was the general manager of the ABA teams the Kentucky Colonels, Indiana Pacers, and Memphis Sounds as well as the president of the NBA team the Atlanta Hawks. Storm’s mother, Hannah G. Storen, works as a real estate broker. Storm attended Atlanta’s Westminster Schools, then she graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1983. She began using the name “Hannah Storm” while working as disc jockey for a Corpus Christi hard rock radio station in the early ’80s. In college, she worked for the Notre Dame-owned NBC affiliate WNDU-TV, and after she graduated, she started working at KNCN in Corpus Christi, followed by KSRR 97 Rock in Houston. At KSRR 97 Rock, Hannah was the drive-time sportscaster, and she also did traffic reports. She spent four years in Houston doing radio and TV jobs, such as hosting postgame shows for the Houston Rockets and Houston Astros. Storm also worked at WCNC-TV 36 in Charlotte as a weekend sports anchor in the late ’80s.
Career
In 1989, Storm became CNN Sports Tonight’s first female host. She stayed with CNN until 1992, and during her time there, she hosted “Major League Baseball Preview” and reported from the playoffs and spring training. In 1990, she hosted the Goodwill Games on TBS. After leaving CNN, Hannah hosted NBC’s coverage of the Olympic Games and figure skating competitions as well as NFL, MLB, NBA, and WNBA games. From 1994 to 2000, she hosted NBC Major League Baseball coverage, making her the first woman to serve as a solo host of an American television network’s sports package. From 1997 to 2002, Storm hosted “The NBA on NBC.” She also anchored the network’s coverage of the French Open, Wimbledon, World Figure Skating Championships, and Notre Dame football. In 1997, she became the WNBA’s first play-by-play announcer. In 2002, Hannah began co-hosting “The Early Show” on CBS and covered events such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections, the Iraq War, and the 2005 London terrorist bombings. She has interviewed George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Condoleezza Rice as well as celebrities and athletes such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, Tiger Woods, Halle Berry, Jennifer Aniston, and Jamie Foxx. Storm also hosted shows for the CBS series “48 Hours” and co-hosted the CBS Thanksgiving Day Parade five times. She left “The Early Show” in December 2007.
Personal Life
Hannah married sportscaster Dan Hicks on January 8, 1994, and they have welcomed three daughters together. In December 2012, Storm suffered first-degree and second-degree burns after a propane-gas grill accident occurred at her home. She lost half her hair as well as her eyelashes and eyebrows, and she was treated at Westchester Medical Center’s Burn Center in Valhalla, New York. Hannah returned to the air less than a month after the accident, co-hosting ABC’s coverage of the Rose Parade on January 1, 2013. Storm has a port-wine stain birthmark on her face, and she has spoken about it publicly to raise awareness about the condition. In 2008, she established the Hannah Storm Foundation to “fund surgeries for children suffering from vascular malformations.” Hannah has served on the boards of the Colgate Women’s Sports Awards, Tribeca Film Festival, and 21st Century Kids 1st Foundation, and she has worked with the Boys and Girls Club, March of Dimes, Vascular Birthmark Institute, Special Olympics, Women’s Sports Foundation, Partnership for a Drug-Free America, and Diocese of Bridgeport.
Real Estate
In July 2010, Hannah and Dick paid $4.175 million for a home in Greenwich, Connecticut. Today, this home is worth around $6 million. Around the time they purchased this home, Hannah and Dick sold their previous Greenwich home for $3.4 million. They purchased this home in 2002 for $3.3 million.
Awards and Nominations
Storm earned Sports Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Host in 1998, 2000, and 2016. In 2011, she was honored with LifeWorx, Inc.’s Celebrated Mom award, which is given to an individual “who has excelled professionally and has been an inspiration to the community while having gone through life challenges.”
