Maria Taylor has stayed busy across several major projects this year. She hosted the Super Bowl LX pregame show, and later traveled to Milan to cohost late-night Olympic coverage.

She also worked as an executive producer on the docuseries Field Generals: History of the Black Quarterback. Still, Taylor said the role that has meant the most to her lately has been being a mother to her 2-year-old son, Roman.

In conversation with Amanda Lucci of Women's Health, Maria Taylor said, “That switched something in me where I felt like I don’t have to apologize for anything. I don’t feel like I have to ask for permission. I deserve to be in the rooms. I’ve worked hard enough, and now I have to stand up and be the fullest version of myself so that my son can be proud.”

According to the Women's Health magazine, Taylor went through three fibroid surgeries and several rounds of IVF while continuing to reach major milestones in her broadcasting career.

"I'm at the IVF doctor in the morning, then going to do the show in the afternoon," Taylor told AOL. "It made me take a little bit of pressure off myself to just be like, 'Why don't you find grace instead of critiquing every single thing you do?'"

Taylor's son, Roman, was born on Christmas Eve in 2023 after years of setbacks during her journey to motherhood. Looking back on the process, Taylor spoke to People Magazine about dealing with surgeries, IVF shots, doctor visits, egg retrievals, and embryo transfers.

She added, "But after all of that, I was blessed with a healthy pregnancy."

Inside Maria Taylor’s Rise in Sports Media

Growing up in Atlanta, Maria Taylor watched Team USA's women win gold at the 1996 Olympics, played both basketball and volleyball at the University of Georgia, and chose broadcasting over a professional volleyball career after college.

Taylor made a breakthrough when she interviewed Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. Since then, her career has reached historic heights. Recently, she made history as the first African-American woman to present the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the Super Bowl.

On the docuseries Field Generals, she showed James "Shack" Harris, the first Black quarterback to play in a Pro Bowl, a video of people thanking him for his impact. "He deserves to know that he paved the way and that what he did was important," she said.

From contractions at the Football Night in America desk to handling struggles of motherhood right before interviewing Olympic flag bearers, LeBron James, and Coco Gauff. "I truly believe there's nothing I can't do," she told Women's Health.

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Written by

Proma Chatterjee

Edited by

Rudra Dubey