Former Fox Business producer Jennifer Eckhart died at age 36, gaining national attention after accusing former Fox News anchor Ed Henry of sexual assault in a high-profile lawsuit.
Eckhart was found dead Saturday, Sept. 19, at her home in Hobe Sound, Florida, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said her death has been ruled a suicide.
Eckhart’s mother discovered her daughter at the residence and contacted authorities shortly before noon, according to an incident report.
Emergency personnel responded, and Eckhart was pronounced dead at the scene.
Eckhart spent seven years working for Fox News Media, primarily as an associate producer at Fox Business Network. Her media career also included work with ESPN Radio and a PBS affiliate in Florida.
More recently, she had moved into podcasting and advocacy work.
She became widely known in 2020 after filing a federal lawsuit against Henry, then a prominent Fox News anchor, alleging that he sexually assaulted and harassed her while the two worked at the network.
Henry denied Eckhart’s allegations and maintained that their sexual relationship was consensual. The disputed claims were never resolved at trial because the two sides eventually settled.
“Mr. Henry, approximately twice Ms. Eckhart’s age, preyed upon, manipulated, and groomed Ms. Eckhart starting at the young age of 24 by exerting his abuse of power over her and her career,” said the lawsuit.
Fox News fired Henry in July 2020 after receiving Eckhart’s complaint and conducting an outside investigation.
The network said at the time that it had not previously received any sexual harassment complaints against Henry involving Eckhart.
Eckhart also named Fox News as a defendant, arguing that the company should have protected her from Henry’s alleged behavior.
Former Fox Business producer Jennifer Eckhart found dead in Florida home https://t.co/WIw3awmCxI pic.twitter.com/vBbbyfaMRI
— New York Post (@nypost) September 21, 2026
A federal judge dismissed the claims against Fox News in March 2025, concluding that the evidence did not establish that network management knew or should have known about Henry’s alleged conduct before Eckhart came forward, multiple reports noted on Monday.
“Fox News can … be held liable for Henry’s actions only if its management or supervisors knew or should have known about that purported misconduct yet failed to prevent Henry from harming Eckhart,” U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams wrote in her decision.
Abrams concluded that “no reasonable jury” could make that finding based on the record before the court.
The court nevertheless allowed Eckhart’s claims against Henry to proceed toward trial.
Henry’s request for summary judgment was denied, but the two sides settled in June 2025 before a trial could begin.
Court records show Eckhart subsequently stipulated to dismissing her remaining claims against him.
The terms of the settlement were not publicly disclosed.
Following the agreement, Eckhart described the five-year legal battle as exhausting and said settling had allowed her to turn her attention toward helping other people who had experienced trauma.
She subsequently founded The Reinvented Project, a nonprofit organization focused on helping trauma survivors through animal-assisted therapy and partnerships with mental health professionals and veterans organizations.
Eckhart also hosted “REINVENTED with Jen Eckhart,” a podcast centered on people who had overcome personal and professional adversity.
The program featured guests from entertainment, business, and public life discussing setbacks and efforts to rebuild their lives.
Among her guests was Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who discussed generational trauma. Her most recent episode, released in March, featured former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg.
Following the settlement with Henry, Eckhart said her experience had strengthened her determination to advocate for other trauma survivors.
“I turned pain into purpose,” she said at the time, adding that survivors did not require a courtroom judgment to move forward with their lives.
Eckhart had also signaled publicly that she was preparing for another phase of her career.
Her website described her as beginning a “second act” in journalism, while her final Instagram post, published June 1, suggested she was working on new projects she planned to announce.
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