Thomas Raymond Bergeron was born on May 6, 1955, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, to Raymond Bergeron and Mary Catherine Costello. He discovered his love of broadcasting as a teenager, landing a job as a radio DJ while still in school. He later attended Northern Essex Community College, though his broadcasting career was already well underway. In the 1980s, he built a loyal New England following co-hosting Evening Magazine on WBZ-TV in Boston and hosting the local quiz show Granite State Challenge.

Bergeron earned national exposure in 1994 when FX cast him as a co-host of Breakfast Time. This was followed by an anchor role at Good Morning America on ABC in 1997. He also hosted the revived Hollywood Squares from 1998 to 2004. 

In 2001, Tom Bergeron became the new host of America’s Funniest Home Videos, a role he held for 15 seasons. He also joined Dancing with the Stars in 2005, quickly becoming one of the leading hosts of ABC’s biggest shows. He left AFV in 2015 and DWTS in 2020, although he briefly returned to ABC as a guest judge on Dancing with the Stars for the show’s 20th anniversary episode.