Phyllis George

The nation’s first female sportscaster; she co-hosted the NFL Today show with Brent Musburger and Irv Cross until 1984. She has had two talk shows of her own on TNN as well as a crafts-oriented series on QVC, and she has also appeared on a Candid Camera revival and The CBS Morning News. In 1979 George married Kentucky Democrat John Y. Brown, who was contemplating a run for governor; many political observers gave her credit for his eventual win. She shone as first lady in what she now calls “my adopted state”; for example, she used her power to create the Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation, which showcases the work of Appalachian quilters, basket-weavers, and other artisans. In fact, this summer her name has been bandied about in the Bluegrass State as a possible candidate for governor or U.S. senator—an idea that is said to enrage Brown, from whom she is now divorced. She eventually marketed Chicken by George in eleven flavors and in 1988 sold the name and the business to Hormel. Although her official bio makes much of her entrepreneurship (“She became the first woman to found her own chicken company”), it omits any mention of less successful endeavors, such as her brief first marriage to Hollywood producer Robert Evans. She divides her time between what she calls the triangle: New York City, Lexington, and Denton.