Meet Molly Qerim, host of ESPN’s First Take: known for her fashion sense and ‘soft side’, she has used her platform to advocate for endometriosis and autism spectrum disorder awareness

Apr 17 , 2025

Meet ESPN’s Molly Qerim, who uses her platform to advocate for endometriosis and autism spectrum disorder awareness. Photo: @mollyqerim/Instagram

Born to a Catholic Italian mother and a Muslim Albanian father, Qerim was brought up in Connecticut and studied at UConn before joining ESPN; she used to be married to sports analyst Jalen Rose

Television presenter Molly Qerim, host of ESPN’s First Take, turned 41 last month and celebrated with a beachy holiday. According to The US Sun, she was enjoying her time off somewhere in Portugal, based on the famed Portuguese restaurant she tagged in her Instagram Story, JNcQUOI Avenida. The raven-haired beauty stunned in a green cowl-neck top and a beige skirt against a scenic background, making fans swoon.

Qerim has built a reputation among fans for her fashion sense, but she’s also known for keeping it real with her commentary. Recently, while discussing the physical altercation between the Detroit Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves during an NBA game, she called her co-host Stephen A Smith “hypocritical” for saying he doesn’t mind a rivalry but that the brawl called for disciplinary action.

Molly Qerim was previously married to ESPN’s Jalen Rose. Photo: @mollyqerim/Instagram

Similarly, fans have also come to appreciate Qerim’s soft side. A recent episode of NFL Live celebrating World Autism Awareness Day featured Dan Orlovsky and his son, Madden, who is on the autism spectrum, and showcased the latter’s artwork. The former NFL star was left in tears, and when the clip was shared on Instagram, Qerim wrote him a sweet comment that read, “Love this Dan!”

What else do we know about Molly Qerim, who was married to ESPN’s Jalen Rose for three years?

Molly Qerim’s background

Molly Qerim hails from Cheshire, Connecticut. Photo: @mollyqerim/Instagram

According to Heavy, Qerim was raised in Cheshire, Connecticut. She revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that her mother is Catholic and her father is Muslim. She also told UConn Magazine that she is Albanian on her father’s side and, in an interview with Into The Gloss, revealed that she has Italian heritage on her mother’s side. Qerim graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor’s in communications and a minor in business administration before getting her master’s in broadcast journalism from Quinnipiac University, according to her website.

She began her career with ESPN

Molly Qerim won an Emmy for Fantasy Football Now. Photo: @mollyqerim/Instagram

Qerim first joined ESPN in 2006, working for the network’s digital and mobile departments, according to her website. During that time, her work on Fantasy Football Now earned her an Emmy. She left the network four years after joining, per The US Sun, but always knew she wanted to return, she told UConn Magazine. After working for CBS Sports Network and NFL Network, she returned to ESPN in 2015 as the host of First Take.