Holly Bankemper is best known as the longtime wife of former NFL star and broadcaster Cris Collinsworth, but she has a successful professional life of her own. She is a Kentucky attorney, former college cheerleader, mother of four, and community supporter who has spent decades largely outside the national spotlight. Her husband, Cris Collinsworth, became famous first as a Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver and later as one of football’s most recognizable television analysts. People.com
Holly and Cris married on June 3, 1989. More than 37 years later, they remain married in 2026 and have built a family whose connections to football, broadcasting, law, business, and education extend well beyond Cris’s NFL career. IMDb
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Holly is how separate her identity has remained from her husband’s fame. While Cris spent decades in stadiums and television booths, Holly continued practicing law and became involved in her hometown community in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. People.com
Who Is Holly Bankemper?
Holly Bankemper, also known as Holly Collinsworth, is an American attorney and the wife of Cris Collinsworth.
She grew up with strong ties to Fort Thomas, Kentucky, an area that later became home for the Collinsworth family. She attended the University of Kentucky for her undergraduate studies and was a cheerleader there before pursuing a legal education. People.com
Holly later enrolled at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
She earned her Juris Doctor degree in 1988, a year before marrying Cris. People.com
This is an important part of her biography because Holly did not simply become known through an NFL player.
She built a demanding professional qualification of her own.
When Was Holly Bankemper Born?
Holly’s exact birth date is surprisingly difficult to establish through strong public records.
Numerous celebrity biography websites publish a birth year or birthday for her, but the better-established profiles from major publications do not confirm an exact date.
For that reason, it is better not to present an exact age as verified.
What is much better documented is her Kentucky background, education, legal career, and longtime connection with Fort Thomas. People.com
This is a good example of why celebrity biographies need careful fact-checking.
When someone becomes famous mainly because of a spouse, smaller websites often fill missing details with dates that are difficult to trace back to an original source.
Holly has never made her birthday an important part of her public identity.
Where Did Holly Bankemper Grow Up?
Holly is closely associated with Fort Thomas, Kentucky.
Her connection with the community did not disappear after she married a nationally famous athlete.
Instead, she and Cris eventually made Fort Thomas their family home. Wikipedia
Holly attended Highlands High School, and decades later her continued involvement with local education brought special recognition.
In 2019, she was named the school’s Alumnus of the Year. She has also served on the board of the Fort Thomas Education Foundation and helped support improvements to schools in the area. People.com
That makes Fort Thomas more than simply the place where she lives.
It has remained part of her identity from youth into adulthood.
Was Holly Bankemper a Cheerleader?
Yes.
Before law school, Holly attended the University of Kentucky, where she was a cheerleader. People.com
That detail fits naturally into the larger Collinsworth family story.
Sports became a major part of their household, although Holly herself chose law rather than professional athletics as a career.
Cris had already built his life around football.
Later, their children would also become involved in athletics, sports media, and related businesses.
Holly’s own college experience therefore gives her another connection to the sporting world that eventually surrounded the family.
How Did Holly Bankemper Become a Lawyer?
After completing her undergraduate education, Holly attended the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
She earned her J.D. in 1988. People.com
Holly then became a practicing attorney and has remained associated with the legal profession for decades.
Recent profiles identify her as a member of the Cincinnati Bar Association. People.com
Her professional path is particularly interesting because Cris later studied law too.
He earned his own J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1991. Wikipedia
But their careers moved in different directions.
Holly practiced law.
Cris moved from professional football into sports broadcasting.
A useful related article would be Cris Collinsworth’s journey from NFL receiver to lawyer and award-winning broadcaster.
How Did Holly Bankemper Meet Cris Collinsworth?
Holly and Cris met in Cincinnati during the mid-1980s.
At the time, their lives were moving in very different directions.
Holly was preparing to begin law school.
Cris was already playing professional football for the Cincinnati Bengals. People.com
He had entered the NFL in 1981 and spent his entire eight-season playing career with Cincinnati.
That meant Holly met him when he was already a recognizable professional athlete.
But their relationship did not remain a brief sports-celebrity romance.
They eventually married and built a life together that has now lasted for decades.
Who Is Cris Collinsworth?
Cris Collinsworth was born on January 27, 1959, in Dayton, Ohio.
He played college football for the University of Florida before becoming a wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals. IMDb
His NFL career lasted from 1981 through 1988.
During that period, he became a three-time Pro Bowl selection and played with Cincinnati in two Super Bowls. Cliffipedia
After retiring, Cris moved into broadcasting.
That second career eventually made him even more familiar to younger football fans than his playing career had.
He became closely associated with major NFL television coverage and accumulated numerous Sports Emmy Awards. Cliffipedia
Meanwhile, Holly maintained a much quieter professional and family life.
When Did Holly Bankemper Marry Cris Collinsworth?
Holly and Cris married on June 3, 1989. IMDb
The timing was important.
Cris had just finished his NFL playing career.
Holly had completed her law degree the previous year.
They were therefore entering marriage while both were moving into new stages professionally.
Cris was beginning the transition from athlete to broadcaster.
Holly was establishing herself in law.
Neither could have known exactly how large Cris’s broadcasting career would eventually become.
How Long Have Holly and Cris Collinsworth Been Married?
As of September 2026, Holly and Cris have been married for more than 37 years.
Current biographical records continue to list their marriage as ongoing. IMDb
That makes their relationship especially notable in a profession where constant travel and public attention can put pressure on family life.
Cris spent years traveling for NFL games.
Then his broadcasting career created another demanding schedule.
Holly’s work and the family’s roots in Kentucky appear to have provided a more stable center away from the television spotlight.
How Many Children Do Holly Bankemper and Cris Collinsworth Have?
Holly and Cris have four children:
Katie, Austin, Ashley, and Jac Collinsworth. People.com
Their children grew up surrounded by sports, education, and professional ambition.
But they did not all choose exactly the same path.
Some became directly involved in football.
Others pursued business, media, law-related or professional interests.
What makes the family particularly interesting is how naturally several of the children combined their parents’ worlds—sports, education, media, and professional careers.
Who Is Katie Collinsworth?
Katie is Holly and Cris’s eldest child.
She attended the University of Florida, the same university where her father had played college football, and studied public relations.
She later worked in sports-related business and media, including roles connected with GolfNow and NBC. The US Sun
Katie has generally maintained a lower national profile than her father and brother Jac.
Still, her career kept her connected to the larger sports-media industry that has surrounded the Collinsworth family for decades.
She has also built a family of her own.
Who Is Austin Collinsworth?
Austin Collinsworth followed his father most directly onto the football field.
He played college football for Notre Dame and became a team captain. Wikipedia
Injuries complicated his playing career, and he did not follow Cris into a long professional NFL career.
Instead, Austin moved into business.
Recent reporting identifies him as chief operating officer of Pro Football Focus, the football analytics company associated with his father. People.com
That gives Austin a different connection to football.
His father analyzed games on television.
Austin became involved with the data and business side of the sport.
A natural internal-link opportunity would be Austin Collinsworth’s Notre Dame football career and life after injuries ended his playing days.
Who Is Ashley Collinsworth?
Ashley is another of Holly and Cris’s children.
She attended Harvard University, where she studied psychology and competed in track and field. Sporting News
Her athletic background demonstrates how strongly sports ran through the family even when football was not the chosen activity.
Ashley has maintained a quieter public profile than Jac.
That means personal details about her life should not be expanded beyond what she has made public.
The important point is that Holly and Cris raised children who pursued demanding academic and athletic paths rather than simply relying on their father’s fame.
Who Is Jac Collinsworth?
Jac Collinsworth is probably the most recognizable of Holly and Cris’s children.
He attended the University of Notre Dame and became involved with broadcasting while still young.
He later worked with ESPN before joining NBC Sports, the network most closely associated with his father’s broadcasting career. Wikipedia
Jac has worked on major sports coverage including football, NASCAR, the Indianapolis 500, and the Kentucky Derby. Wikipedia
That created an unusual professional connection.
Cris spent decades becoming one of America’s best-known football commentators.
Then his son entered the same industry.
A useful internal-link opportunity would be Jac Collinsworth’s rise at NBC Sports and what he learned from his famous father.
Did Holly Encourage Her Children’s Education?
The educational records of the Collinsworth children suggest academics were taken seriously in the household.
Austin attended Notre Dame.
Jac attended Notre Dame.
Ashley attended Harvard.
Katie attended the University of Florida. People.com
That does not prove every private parenting decision Holly made.
But it does show a consistent pattern.
The children were encouraged to pursue higher education even though they grew up with the financial advantages and connections that came from their father’s successful career.
Holly’s own path—from college to law school to professional practice—provided another model inside the family.
Where Do Holly and Cris Collinsworth Live?
The couple have long been associated with Fort Thomas, Kentucky, near Cincinnati.
Current biographies continue to identify Fort Thomas as their home base. Wikipedia
That location makes sense for both of them.
It is Holly’s hometown area.
It is close to Cincinnati, where Cris spent his entire NFL career with the Bengals.
And it allowed the family to remain connected with the community even as Cris’s television work became national.
Their choice also reflects something noticeable about Holly.
Her life did not shift permanently to Los Angeles or another celebrity center simply because her husband became famous.
Kentucky remained home.
What Community Work Has Holly Bankemper Done?
Holly’s connection with Fort Thomas extends beyond residence.
She has been involved with local education and community improvement.
Recent reporting credits her with helping rebuild or improve several schools in her hometown and notes her work with the Fort Thomas Education Foundation. People.com
In 2019, Highlands High School recognized her as Alumnus of the Year. People.com
That recognition is useful because it shows how she is viewed locally.
National audiences may know her mainly as Cris Collinsworth’s wife.
Her hometown knows her through a much broader relationship with the community.
What Is the Cris Collinsworth ProScan Fund?
In 2002, Holly and Cris helped establish the Cris Collinsworth ProScan Fund, a nonprofit organization with programs connected to breast-cancer awareness and youth development through chess. People.com
The organization represents another area where their public success has been turned toward community work.
Holly’s involvement fits naturally with the rest of her biography.
She has spent much of her life balancing several identities:
Attorney.
Wife.
Mother.
Community supporter.
And partner in charitable work.
She rarely makes herself the center of publicity around any of those roles.
Why Has Holly Bankemper Stayed So Private?
Holly has never built a celebrity career around her marriage.
That choice becomes more noticeable when compared with how famous Cris became.
He appears on television before millions of viewers.
His opinions about football regularly become sports headlines.
His voice is familiar to NFL audiences.
Holly lives differently.
She practices law.
Participates in community work.
Supports her family.
And appears publicly when appropriate without turning those appearances into a personal media brand.
There is no evidence that she dislikes publicity.
She simply has not made fame her profession.
Does Holly Attend Events With Cris?
Yes.
Holly occasionally appears publicly with Cris, particularly at major sports and entertainment events.
For example, the couple attended a high-profile Super Bowl event in Las Vegas in February 2024. Legit.ng – Nigeria news.
These appearances show that she is not completely hidden from public life.
She simply appears selectively.
That is different from building a career around red carpets or celebrity interviews.
For most of the year, her identity remains connected much more closely with family, law, and Kentucky than with Hollywood-style publicity.
Is Holly Bankemper Still a Lawyer?
Recent reputable profiles continue to describe Holly as a practicing attorney and member of the Cincinnati Bar Association. People.com
Her legal career is one of the most firmly established facts about her professional life.
However, detailed information about individual clients or cases is understandably limited.
Lawyers frequently work with matters that are not appropriate for celebrity-style reporting.
So it is better to describe her established profession without inventing dramatic cases or claiming a specialty that cannot be reliably verified.
Did Cris Collinsworth Also Become a Lawyer?
Cris earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1991. Wikipedia
That was three years after Holly completed her own J.D.
But Cris did not build the same kind of traditional legal career.
His future was in sports media.
The shared law-school connection nevertheless gives their marriage an interesting dimension.
Both understood the demands of legal education.
Both earned professional law degrees.
But only Holly made legal practice a central part of her working identity.
What Is Holly Bankemper’s Net Worth?
Holly Bankemper’s personal net worth has not been reliably verified.
Some celebrity biography websites publish estimates of several million dollars.
Those figures should not be treated as confirmed.
Holly has had a long legal career, while Cris has earned substantial income through professional football, broadcasting, business, and his connection with Pro Football Focus.
But household wealth is not automatically Holly’s individual net worth.
Without reliable disclosure of her personal assets, investments, legal income, and ownership interests, giving one precise number would be speculation.
Is Holly Bankemper Still Married to Cris Collinsworth in 2026?
Yes.
Current biographical records continue to list Holly and Cris as married, with their marriage beginning on June 3, 1989. IMDb
There is no credible current report of divorce or separation.
By September 2026, they have been married for more than 37 years.
Their relationship has lasted through Cris’s transition from NFL player to broadcaster, Holly’s legal career, the raising of four children, and their children becoming adults with careers and families of their own.
What Is Holly Bankemper Doing Now?
Holly continues to maintain a relatively private life centered around family, law, and community.
Recent profiles still identify her as an attorney and as an active member of the Fort Thomas community. People.com
At the same time, the Collinsworth family has entered a new stage.
Their children are adults.
Some have children of their own.
Jac has established himself in sports broadcasting.
Austin has remained closely connected to football through business.
And Cris remains a major figure in NFL television.
Holly, meanwhile, continues to be the least publicity-focused member of one of sports broadcasting’s most recognizable families.
Interesting Facts About Holly Bankemper
Holly grew up in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and later returned there to raise her family with Cris. She attended the University of Kentucky and was a cheerleader before going to law school. People.com
She earned her J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1988, three years before Cris completed his own law degree. Holly and Cris married on June 3, 1989, and have four children: Katie, Austin, Ashley, and Jac. People.com
She is also involved in community and educational causes in Fort Thomas. In 2019, Highlands High School named her Alumnus of the Year. People.com
Despite being married to a nationally famous former NFL player and broadcaster, Holly has never built a celebrity-focused career.
Final Thoughts
Holly Bankemper has spent much of her adult life beside one of football television’s most recognizable personalities.
But her story began long before Cris Collinsworth became famous in the broadcast booth.
She grew up in Kentucky.
She became a University of Kentucky cheerleader.
Then she chose a demanding professional path and entered law school.
By 1988, Holly had earned her J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law. People.com
A year later, she married Cris.
At that point, his playing career with the Cincinnati Bengals had just ended.
His second career was only beginning.
Over the decades that followed, Cris became a major television personality.
Holly built something quieter.
A legal career.
A family.
A lasting connection to her hometown.
And community work that eventually earned recognition from the same school system she had once attended. People.com
Together, Holly and Cris raised four children.
Katie built a professional career connected with sports media.
Austin became a Notre Dame football captain before moving into football business and analytics.
Ashley studied at Harvard and competed in athletics.
Jac followed his father into national sports broadcasting. People.com
That family story may explain Holly better than any celebrity label.
She did not need to become a television personality because her husband was one.
She did not abandon her own profession.
And she did not move away permanently from the Kentucky community that shaped her.
As of 2026, Holly and Cris have been married for more than 37 years. IMDb
Cris remains the public face millions of football viewers recognize.
Holly remains much less visible.
But behind that privacy is a substantial life of her own: attorney, mother of four, community supporter, and the longtime partner who has shared nearly every stage of Cris Collinsworth’s life after professional football.
For more carefully researched celebrity biographies and family stories, visit Charles Magazine.
FAQs About Holly Bankemper
Who is Holly Bankemper?
Holly Bankemper is an American attorney and the longtime wife of former Cincinnati Bengals player and NFL broadcaster Cris Collinsworth. She is also the mother of their four children. People.com
What does Holly Bankemper do for a living?
Holly is a lawyer. She earned her J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1988 and has been identified as a practicing attorney and member of the Cincinnati Bar Association. People.com
When did Holly Bankemper marry Cris Collinsworth?
Holly and Cris married on **June
