Sheinelle Jones Facts: Height, Family Details, Name Meaning

Nothing beats seeing Sheinelle Jones’ bright smile every time she appears on Today! The TV host has become such a huge part of the show’s iconic team and all of its success over the years. Since joining the program full-time in 2014, viewers have gotten to know a lot more about the reporter.

From a young age, Sheinelle set her sights on a journalism career. Her love for reporting first began when she would host mock interviews with her siblings.

“I would take my pencil and I would interview one of my little brothers,” she told Today fans in October 2014. “I would say, ‘What’s your favorite food?’ and he would say, ‘Chicken nuggets.'”

The Pennsylvania native attended Northwestern University before landing jobs at several Fox affiliate stations. She later became a cohost of Good Day Philadelphia on Fox 29, a role she held for nearly 10 years. Eventually, the opportunity to cohost Weekend Today came along and it was her biggest dream come true.

In addition to her Weekend Today role, Sheinelle’s duties expanded into a full-time weekday role on Today in 2019. She decided to focus her attention on her weekday responsibilities and announced she was leaving the weekend program in December 2019.

“As much as I love my Saturday Today family, this is going to be my last day anchoring the show,” the NBC star said during a December 2019 broadcast. “Since I’m so busy on the weekdays, I thought, you know what, I should probably see those three children that I have at home.”

Sheinelle shares kids Kayin, Uche and Clara with her husband, Uche Ojeh. The happy couple have done a great job balancing their careers and parenthood after they relocated to New York City when Sheinelle landed the job on Today. The mom of three even started a new Thanksgiving tradition with her family each year due to her schedule.

“For the last several years, my family in Kansas has celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday. We realized that as long as we’re together with our traditions and hearts of gratitude, it really doesn’t matter what day it is,” she shared during a November 2022 interview with Hello! Magazine, adding, “It makes it easier to celebrate on Friday because I can sleep in and be fully present when we’re together.”

Keep scrolling to learn five interesting facts about Sheinelle.

The Origin of Sheinelle’s Name

After landing a hosting role on Today, Sheinelle shared the origin of her name in an interview on the show’s official website.

“Once upon a time, there’s a really nice lady, her name is Sheila,” she said about her mom. “And then she met this handsome man in college, his name was Darnell. Years later, they had a baby, it’s me. And they came up with my name — it’s a merging of their two names.”

She’s a Huge Janet Jackson Fan

In December 2022, Sheinelle got to meet Janet Jackson, her childhood idol, during an episode of Today. The broadcaster dressed as the pop star for Halloween three years prior. Janet later invited Sheinelle to join her on stage at one of her concerts.

“Fierce. Vulnerable. Funky. Beautiful. You could dance — like all the things,” Sheinelle said of her idol. “You would be shy and then you would get on that stage, and you would just slay before they even used that word.”

Her Least Favorite Thing About Working Early Mornings

Like many of her Today costars, Sheinelle wakes up at the crack of dawn to make sure she is on time for her early morning show. However, she admitted her early call time definitely catches up to her at night.

“I struggle to stay awake past 8 p.m.,” she confessed in a January 2021 interview with Parents. “My husband stopped asking me to watch a movie on a Friday night long ago. He’d look over at me and I’d be asleep! Quite often, I go to bed before my children.”