Phil Donahue was born as Phillip John "Phil" Donahue on 21 December 1935, to American parents Phillip Donahue and Catherine Donahue in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He attended Our Lady of Angels elementary education, later joined St. Edward High School and graduated from the University of Notre Dame.
Donahue began his professional career in 1957, as a production assistant `at KYW radio and television when that station was in Cleveland. He soon became the program director for WABJ radio in Adrian, Michigan after his graduation.
He hosted the Conversation Piece, a phone-in afternoon talk show from 1963 to 1967 on WHIO radio. He interviewed famous personalities like Elton John, Muhammad Ali, John F. Kennedy, and Joe Frazier.
Donahue further left WHIO, moving his talk program to television with The Phil Donahue Show on WLW-D on 6 November 1967. Apart from hosting his own programme, he appeared on NBC's The Today Show as a contributor, from 1979 until 1988.
Donahue along with Soviet journalist Vladimir Pozner co-hosted a series of televised discussions, known as the U.S.–Soviet Space Bridge during the cold war in the 1980s. After seven years of retirement, he returned to television to host a show called Donahue on MSNBC, July 2002. He has received 20 Emmy Awards during his broadcasting career, ten for Outstanding Talk Show Host, and 10 for The Phil Donahue Show. He has a perfect height of 6 feet.
Donahue is married to actress Marlo Thomas in one of the entertainment world's longest lasting marriages. The couple tied their knots on 21 May 1980 and is living together in Manhattan.
Talking about his past affairs, he was married to Margaret Cooney from 1958 to 1975, which later ended in a divorce. Donahue has five children, Michael, Kevin, Daniel, Mary Rose, and James Donahue all from his first wife.
Donahue has an estimated net worth of $25 million, including all of his properties and earnings in 2017. Though his salary is not enclosed, he is, in fact, earning a massive amount of money believed to be in millions.
