Harvey Levin was born on September 2, 1950, in Los Angeles County, California, to a Jewish family. He graduated with honors from Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda in 1968. Levin earned a political science degree from UC Santa Barbara in 1972. He then completed a law degree at the University of Chicago in 1975.
Levin practiced law in California for two decades while also teaching at the University of Miami and Whittier College. He became a legal analyst for KNBC in 1982. He then spent a decade as an investigative reporter for KCBS-TV, covering the O.J. Simpson trial. In 1997, he became co-executive producer and legal anchor for The People’s Court, and later created Celebrity Justice in 2002.
Levin founded the celebrity news website TMZ in 2005, quickly turning it into the most-cited entertainment outlet in the country. He launched the syndicated companion show TMZ on TV in 2007, followed by TMZ Live in 2013. Fox Corporation acquired TMZ from WarnerMedia for a reported $50 million in 2021. Levin continues to host TMZ on TV and TMZ Live and to executive-produce the Fox documentary series TMZ Investigates.
