Authorities said Eckhart was found at her Hobe Sound home Sept. 19 and classified her death as suicide.
HOBE SOUND, Fla. — Jennifer Eckhart, a former Fox Business associate producer who later became a podcast host and nonprofit founder, died at her Florida home at age 36, according to authorities and multiple news reports.
Eckhart was found dead inside her Hobe Sound residence on the morning of Sept. 19, according to a Martin County Sheriff’s Office incident report obtained by news organizations. A sheriff’s office spokesperson said her death had been ruled a suicide, and the Martin County Medical Examiner’s Office separately confirmed her death. Authorities have not publicly released information establishing why she died, and her death should not be attributed to events in her professional or legal history without evidence.
Eckhart spent about seven years working for Fox, including as an associate producer for Fox Business. She also had experience in broadcasting before joining the company, including work with ESPN Radio and a PBS affiliate in Gainesville. After leaving Fox, she moved into independent media projects and hosted the interview podcast “REINVENTED with Jen Eckhart,” which focused on people who had faced setbacks and major changes in their lives.
She became the subject of national news coverage in 2020 when she filed a federal civil lawsuit against former Fox News anchor Ed Henry and Fox News. Eckhart accused Henry of rape and other sexual misconduct while they worked at the network. Henry denied her allegations and maintained that their relationship had been consensual. The allegations against Henry were civil claims and were never decided by a jury.
Fox News fired Henry in July 2020 after receiving a complaint concerning alleged sexual misconduct and conducting an investigation through outside counsel. The company later said it acted promptly after learning of Eckhart’s accusations and maintained that it had not previously known about her allegations against Henry. The litigation that followed examined both the disputed allegations against Henry and whether Fox News could be held legally responsible for his alleged conduct.
In March 2025, a federal judge granted summary judgment to Fox News on Eckhart’s claims against the network while allowing her remaining claims against Henry to continue. Eckhart and Henry reached a settlement in June 2025 before those claims went to trial. The financial terms were not publicly disclosed, and the settlement did not establish through a court verdict whether Eckhart’s allegations against Henry were true. Eckhart said at the time that the five-year legal fight had been difficult and that she planned to continue supporting other trauma survivors.
Eckhart continued pursuing her case against Fox News after settling with Henry. On April 24, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the judgment in favor of the network. The appeals court found that the evidence in the case did not establish that Fox News knew about Henry’s alleged conduct toward Eckhart while it was occurring. The court also noted that Fox acted after learning of her allegations by investigating and terminating Henry.
The appeals court specifically said its review did not amount to a determination of what did or did not happen between Eckhart and Henry. Its decision concerned whether the record supported holding Fox News liable under the employment laws at issue. That distinction left the underlying allegations against Henry unresolved by a trial verdict after Eckhart and Henry settled their dispute.
Outside the courtroom, Eckhart built projects around interviews and support for people who had experienced trauma. She founded The Reinvented Project, a nonprofit focused on animal-assisted programs and human-animal connections for trauma survivors. Her “REINVENTED” podcast featured interviews centered on adversity, recovery and professional or personal change. Reporting after her death said the show had continued releasing episodes in 2026.
Eckhart had publicly described her work after the settlement as an effort to turn a difficult period of her life toward advocacy for others. Her nonprofit and podcast became prominent parts of her professional identity after her years in television news. She was born and raised in Miami and had also worked in radio and local television before her career at Fox.
Authorities have not announced additional findings explaining the circumstances that preceded Eckhart’s death. The sheriff’s office has classified the manner of death as suicide. Her death at 36 closes a media career that moved from television production to independent podcasting and nonprofit work, while the disputed allegations at the center of her former civil case remain without a jury finding.
Author note: Last updated September 21, 2026.