Chris Harrison began his television career by covering local sports in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Dallas, Texas native went to Oklahoma City University on a soccer scholarship and then made the natural transition to sportscasting with a local station.

During his six years there, he worked his way up the ranks from part-time sportscaster to weekend sportscaster. He also had he opportunity to cover hard news stories, including the 1995 tragedy at the Federal Building, an event which profoundly affected his perspective on life and career.

A visit to L.A. for an audition for a horseracing network led to a permanent move. Three years later he still hosts a daily two-hour show, alongside racing experts on the cable station TVG, which shared programming with FOX Sports Net.

Harrison landed the job of host for HGTV's popular primetime series, Designers' Challenge, in 1999, and signed a deal to continue for a third season on that network's highest rated program. In 2001 he became host of The Bachelor.

He hosted a full season (65 episodes) of Mall Masters, which was done at Minnesota's Mall of America. He has played a reporter in several feature films and television series, including The Practice, Bounce, and Showtime, starring Robert DeNiro and Eddie Murphy.

In his spare time Harrison still plays soccer and has become addicted to golf. He has developed a great appreciation for the weather and lifestyle of Southern California, and spends as much time as possible outdoors with his college sweetheart and wife of more than 8 years, Gwen, and six-month-old baby, Joshua.