Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams is dating again, according to reports. In breaking news about the actor, he has been linked to a relationship with 26-year-old SportsNet reporter Taylor Rooks.
The news broke on Thursday, May 31, putting Grey’s Anatomy right back in the public eye. But who is Taylor Rooks, his reported new girlfriend?
Rooks serves as a SportsNet New York anchor, and also has a very popular YouTube show and Podcast called TimeOut With Taylor Rooks.
She uses those platforms to interview athletes in a less formal setting than her work for SportsNet.
Rooks previously worked on a host at the sports-focused Big Ten Network, featuring on BTN Live, BTN Football Pregame and Women’s Sports Report.
She will also be well known to football fans after working as a sideline reporter for CBS Sports Network during the 2016-17 season.
Earlier in her career she also worked for scout.com as a reporter covering basketball recruiting.
Rooks was born in St Louis, Missouri, and attended Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee, Georgia, before majoring in broadcast journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where both her parents also went.
Her family have always been into sports. Her father Thomas Rooks was the top rushing leader for intercollegiate athletic team the Illinois Fighting Illini. One of her uncles is St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer Lou Brock, and another is Marv Woodson, a former player for the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints in the NFL.
Rooks has a large social media following, with more than 118,000 followers on Instagram and another 65,000 on Twitter at the time of writing.
The news about the pair dating broke after a report by People came out stating that “Jesse Williams is officially off the market”. The magazine confirmed the relationship, going on to relay that the couple was spotted attending a Kevin Hart comedy show over the weekend.
This is big news about the Grey’s Anatomy actor, as he was just recently dating Minka Kelly. The pair dated for several months before calling it off.
On Grey’s Anatomy, Williams plays Dr. Jackson Avery, who basically runs Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Williams joined the program during the 2009 season when another local hospital was merged with Seattle Grace. Since then, his character of Jackson Avery has become one of the most popular roles on the show.
Jesse Williams Is Dating SportsNet New York Anchor Taylor Rooks https://t.co/rkfz6liziL
— People (@people) May 31, 2018
In addition to his time on Grey’s Anatomy, Jesse Williams has had roles in films like The Cabin in the Woods, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, and Brooklyn’s Finest. His big break has definitely come with Dr. Jackson Avery, as he has now been on the program for 10 seasons.
The fall 2018 installment of Grey’s Anatomy will be its 15th season. There will be a shift in stories, as Jessica Capshaw (Dr. Arizona Robbins) and Sarah Drew (Dr. April Kepner) have left the show. Kepner had a child with Avery, so Jesse Williams will likely have a lot of substories that differ from the past.
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC this fall.