Emily Compagno | Celebrity Net Worth 2026

Biography & Early Wealth Journey

Emily Compagno built an unusual career that has taken her from practicing law and working for the federal government to cheering for the Oakland Raiders and eventually becoming one of Fox News Channel's most prominent on-air personalities.

Compagno joined Fox News as a contributor in 2018 and became a permanent co-host of "Outnumbered" in 2021. In September 2026, she left that role to become a full-time co-host of "The Five," joining Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, and Jesse Watters. She has also been a frequent presence on "Gutfeld!" and other Fox programs.

Beyond political and legal commentary, Compagno developed a significant true-crime career. She hosted "Crimes That Changed America" for Fox Nation and launched "The FOX True Crime Podcast with Emily Compagno" in 2023, covering murders, disappearances, survival stories, major trials, and law-enforcement investigations. Her first book, "Under His Wings: How Faith on the Front Lines Has Protected American Troops," was published in 2024 and debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Compagno's salary from Fox News has not been publicly disclosed.

Early Life and Education

Emily Rose Compagno was born on November 9, 1979, in Oakland, California. She grew up in El Cerrito with her two sisters, Natalie and Juliet. Her father, John Compagno, served in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, and military service was an important part of her family's history.

Compagno attended the University of Washington, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. While in college, she participated in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and received the Air Force ROTC Cadet of the Quarter Award.

She ultimately chose law rather than a military career and enrolled at the University of San Francisco School of Law. Compagno served as president of the school's Federalist Society chapter and worked as an articles editor for the Intellectual Property Law Bulletin before earning her Juris Doctor in 2006.

Legal Career

Compagno began practicing law in California in 2006. Her early work included criminal defense and civil litigation involving areas such as contracts, employment disputes, white-collar matters, and criminal cases.

She also served as a Senior Judge Judicial Extern to Judge John T. Noonan Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Compagno later held legal positions abroad in South Africa and Brazil, broadening a résumé that eventually combined private practice with federal government work.

She joined the Social Security Administration as a federal attorney and rose to become a federal managing attorney and Acting Director. The role involved legal and administrative responsibilities within one of the largest agencies in the federal government.

Wealth Trajectory & Future Earnings Projections

That legal background eventually became central to Compagno's television career. Rather than entering broadcasting through journalism school or a local-news route, she arrived with courtroom experience and years of legal practice that allowed her to analyze criminal cases, court decisions, investigations, and broader legal issues on television.

Oakland Raiderettes

Compagno pursued an entirely different career at the same time she was practicing law.

While working as an attorney in San Francisco, she auditioned for the Oakland Raiderettes, the cheerleading squad of the NFL's Oakland Raiders. She made the team and eventually became a captain.

Her role expanded beyond performing at games. Compagno was selected as an NFL ambassador and represented the league internationally, including promotional appearances in China.

In 2009, the United Service Organizations selected Compagno and four other NFL cheerleaders for a USO tour visiting American troops stationed in Iraq and Kuwait. The experience later became especially relevant to her work as an author, giving her a personal connection to servicemembers deployed overseas.

(Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

Fox News Career

Compagno joined Fox News Channel as a contributor in December 2018. Her legal background made her a natural fit for segments involving court cases, criminal investigations, law-enforcement issues, and Supreme Court developments, while she also increasingly participated in broader news and political discussions.

She became a regular presence across the network, appearing on programs including "The Five" and "Gutfeld!" Compagno's television role gradually expanded beyond legal analysis as she became one of Fox's recurring panel personalities.

In January 2021, Fox promoted her to permanent co-host of the weekday program "Outnumbered." She joined longtime host Harris Faulkner and a changing group of co-hosts and guests. Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany subsequently became another regular co-host.

Compagno remained with "Outnumbered" for more than five years.

"The Five"

In August 2026, Fox News announced that Compagno had been selected for a permanent seat on "The Five."

She officially joined the show on September 8, 2026, leaving her daily position on "Outnumbered." By that point, Compagno had already appeared frequently as a guest co-host on "The Five," but the promotion made her a permanent member of one of Fox News Channel's flagship programs.

"The Five" uses a roundtable format in which its hosts discuss the day's major news stories, politics, culture, and entertainment. Compagno joined Gutfeld, Perino, and Watters along with rotating co-hosts representing a different political perspective.

The promotion represented one of the biggest steps in Compagno's broadcasting career, moving her from Fox's daytime lineup into a permanent role on one of the network's most-watched programs.

"Crimes That Changed America"

Compagno expanded into true-crime programming in 2020 when she began hosting the Fox Nation series "Crimes That Changed America."

The show examined criminal cases that had significant effects on American society, law enforcement, media, or the legal system. Compagno used her background as an attorney to explain the legal details surrounding each case rather than approaching the stories solely as entertainment.

The series helped establish true crime as a distinct area of her broadcasting career and eventually led to a much larger audio project.

"The FOX True Crime Podcast"

In February 2023, Fox News Audio launched "The FOX True Crime Podcast with Emily Compagno."

The program covers solved and unsolved murders, missing-person cases, survival stories, high-profile criminal trials, fugitives, and unusual law-enforcement investigations. Compagno regularly interviews Fox News investigative reporters as well as attorneys, law-enforcement officials, victims, survivors, and other people connected to the cases.

Her legal training plays a significant role in the format, allowing the conversations to move beyond descriptions of crimes into evidence, procedure, charging decisions, courtroom strategy, and sentencing.

The podcast developed into a large multi-season library and significantly expanded Compagno's work outside conventional cable television.

"Under His Wings"

Compagno published her first book, "Under His Wings: How Faith on the Front Lines Has Protected American Troops," in November 2024 through Fox News Books and HarperCollins.

The book examines the role religious faith has played in the lives of American military personnel from World War I through more recent conflicts. Rather than writing a conventional military history, Compagno assembled first-person accounts, letters, photographs, family stories, and testimony from veterans and servicemembers.

Her own family history of military service and her 2009 USO trip to Iraq and Kuwait contributed to her interest in the subject.

"Under His Wings" became an immediate commercial success. It debuted as the #1 New York Times bestseller and also placed prominently on other national nonfiction bestseller lists.

Compagno subsequently promoted the book through speaking appearances and live events built around the stories of military service, faith, sacrifice, and resilience featured in the book.

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