Gianola was born at approximately 5:21am on a temperate morning in San Diego, California to loving parents, Ruth and James. He was the fourth of eight children and was named Jeffrey Gianola to further the legacy of J names within the family. His devoted Catholic parents found it important for him and his siblings to attend a religious elementary and middle school, but upon entry into high school did not have the funds to continue this private education. As a result, Jeff attended Crawford High School and graduated in 1973. By this time, Gianola was working many jobs prior to and alongside his college education in order to help combat some of the expenses. Some of these jobs included a local print shop, a Jack in the Box, driving a school bus for a nearby school, and working at the cinematic theater, a job that introduced him to his future wife.
Career
While taking a few classes at the University of San Diego, Jeffrey secured a position as a grip for a news station in Santa Barbara, California. Throughout his time carrying equipment for cameramen and reporters, Jeff gained immense on-the-job experience that he took with him as he climbed the ladder to television stardom. In fact, Jeff gained so much knowledge that he actually discontinued his education in order to pursue television full-time. In his eyes, he felt his university education could not provide any new knowledge about his career that his current job could not. Although risky, his choice to quit college was ultimately the right one as he worked his way up the ladder and became a weatherman at the Santa Barbara station. He performed so well, his efforts were eventually noticed by KATU, a station in Portland, Oregon, and Jeff left his home to pursue television in Portland. Gianola grew up in San Diego, California, and came to Portland's KATU, the city's ABCaffiliate, in 1983 from a stint at a Santa Barbara, California, station where he was the general-assignment reporter. After doing the weather and morning anchoring at KATU for a few years, he was moved to evening anchor in 1985. He was teamed with Julie Emry, and the pair co-anchored KATU's evening newscasts for several years in the late 1980s and 1990s. Gianola left KATU for CBS affiliateKOIN, in August 1998. In September 1999, Gianola wrote, produced and starred in "Quick Tips for Easy Living", a lifestyle program that aired Saturday afternoons on KOIN. The program was canceled in October 1999. Gianola's news partner was Anne State until she left broadcast news to care for her parents in April 2015. Gianola produced the documentary "No Perfect Answers: The Life and Architecture of Pietro Belluschi". Gianola is the father of five children; two girls from a previous marriage and three children with his current wife, Shannon. The family lives in Tigard. Gianola is the president and founder of the Wednesday's Child Foundation. This foundation helps to raise funds for children in foster care to participate in activities such as camps, lessons, and sports teams. Gianola played a television news reporter in the 2003 William Friedkin film The Hunted. His name appears on the train in several scenes. He also had a cameo in the 1999 Kelley Baker film Birddog.
