Who Is Big Cat’s Wife? — The Full Story of Stephanie Maloney Katz

In the universe of American sports media, few personalities generate the kind of loyal, devoted following that Dan “Big Cat” Katz commands. He is the co-host of Pardon My Take — consistently ranked as the number-one sports podcast in America, averaging 1.5 million downloads per episode — a central figure at Barstool Sports for over a decade, and one of the most genuinely funny, authentically human voices in sports entertainment. His Chicago sports loyalties are non-negotiable. His podcast riffs are long and glorious. His relationship with his audience is built on the kind of intimacy that only sustained, daily content can produce.

And yet, despite that extraordinary transparency about his professional life, Dan Katz has maintained one of the most rigorously private personal lives of any major American media personality. His wife — known affectionately to his listeners as “Lady Cat” and identified across multiple sources as Stephanie Maloney Katz — has never appeared publicly alongside him, holds no verified social media accounts, and has managed to remain almost entirely invisible to the audience of millions that follows every other aspect of her husband’s life.

But Stephanie Maloney Katz is not simply the private wife of a famous podcast host. She is, by verified professional record, one of the more substantively accomplished legal minds associated with the Barstool Sports world — a Notre Dame Law School graduate, a former Supreme Court brief writer, a former law clerk to two federal judges, and the current Chief of Staff and Senior Associate Chief Counsel at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Centre in Washington, D.C. She did not retreat from ambition when she married a media personality. She built a parallel career of genuine distinction while keeping her personal life completely and deliberately private.

This is her story — and his.

Quick Profile: Dan “Big Cat” Katz

Who Is Big Cat?

To understand why Stephanie Maloney Katz’s privacy is so remarkable, it helps to understand exactly how public her husband’s life is.

Dan Katz, born Daniel Michael Katz on January 30, 1985, in Brookfield, Massachusetts, is one of the most influential voices in American sports media.

He presents as a lifelong Chicago sports fan, which may ultimately be true. However, he was born in Newton, Massachusetts, grew up there, and spent much of his life in the Chicagoland area.

Dan Katz joined Barstool Sports in 2012, initially as a blogger writing primarily about Chicago sports — the Bears, the Cubs, the White Sox. He quickly distinguished himself through a combination of genuine sports knowledge, an extremely online sensibility, and an ability to be funny without being mean — a harder balance to strike than it sounds in a media environment that often mistakes cruelty for wit.

The launch of Pardon My Take in March 2016 with co-host Eric “PFT Commenter” Sollenberger transformed his career permanently. The podcast quickly became the most downloaded sports show in Apple Podcasts history, reaching 1 million downloads per episode within its first year — a record for sports podcasts on Apple Podcasts.

While Big Cat lives much of his professional life in front of millions, his wife, Stephanie Maloney Katz, has intentionally remained one of the most private figures in the entire sports entertainment industry. She has no verified social media accounts, has never attended a public event alongside Dan, and has maintained complete anonymity throughout his rise.

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Early Life and Background — Stephanie Maloney

Stephanie Maloney grew up in the United States, with multiple sources suggesting New York City roots. Stephanie grew up in the bustling heart of New York City. From an early age, she showed a passion for both the arts and academics.

Beyond these broad biographical outlines, Stephanie Maloney Katz’s early life and family background are not matters of public record. She has never given interviews, never appeared on her husband’s podcast, and has never made any statement to any media outlet about herself or her background. Any specific claims about her childhood, her parents, or her formative experiences beyond what can be verified through professional records should be treated with appropriate scepticism.

What is verifiable — and genuinely impressive — is her educational record.

Education — Notre Dame Law School

Stephanie Maloney studied law at Notre Dame Law School.

The University of Notre Dame Law School is one of the most prestigious law schools in the United States — consistently ranked in the top tier of American legal education, known particularly for its Catholic intellectual tradition, its strong appellate litigation programme, and a culture of public service that has produced judges, senators, federal officials, and some of the most respected lawyers in the country.

Gaining admission to Notre Dame Law School requires both an exceptional undergraduate record and an LSAT score in the upper percentiles. Graduating from it — and going on to clerk for federal judges and write Supreme Court briefs — reflects a lawyer of genuine intellectual distinction, not merely a competent professional who happened to attend a prestigious institution.

Career — From Federal Clerkships to the U.S. Chamber Litigation Centre

This is where Stephanie Maloney Katz’s biography becomes genuinely remarkable, because the professional record that can be verified is not that of a woman who gave up her career when she married a media personality. It is the record of a serious, high-achieving attorney who built a distinguished career entirely in parallel with her private personal life.

Federal Clerkships — The Most Competitive Entry to the Legal Profession

Stephanie Maloney has also worked as a law clerk for the Honourable Stephen J. Murphy, III of the Eastern District of Michigan, and the Honourable Edith Brown Clement of the Fifth Circuit.

Federal clerkships are the most coveted entry-level positions in the American legal profession. Each year, hundreds of federal judges select a handful of law graduates to serve as clerks — conducting legal research, drafting opinions, and advising on cases. The competition is intense: only the most academically distinguished graduates of the most prestigious law schools are selected.

Clerking for the Honourable Stephen J. Murphy III — a U.S. District Judge in the Eastern District of Michigan — and then for the Honourable Edith Brown Clement — a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit — represents a two-clerkship sequence that is associated specifically with lawyers on track for the most elite levels of appellate practice.

Judge Edith Brown Clement, appointed to the Fifth Circuit by President George W. Bush, has been mentioned as a potential Supreme Court nominee on multiple occasions. Clerking for a judge of that stature is a signal of extraordinary legal promise.

Winston and Strawn LLP — Supreme Court Practice

Before that, Maloney worked as an associate in the Appellate and Critical Motions Practice Group at Winston and Strawn LLP. Her role concentrated on briefing and strategy in complex commercial and appellate disputes at the federal and state levels, including merits and amicus filings to the United States Supreme Court.

Winston and Strawn is one of America’s most prestigious BigLaw firms, with offices across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Its Appellate and Critical Motions Practice Group is exactly where law graduates with federal clerkship credentials and Supreme Court ambitions build their careers.

Writing merits and amicus filings to the United States Supreme Court is not routine appellate work. Merits briefs are the principal arguments in a case before the Supreme Court. Amicus briefs — filed by parties who are not litigants but have a stake in the outcome — are carefully crafted legal arguments that require both technical mastery and genuine strategic intelligence about how the Court thinks. Stephanie Maloney Katz has done both.

U.S. Chamber Litigation Centre — Chief of Staff and Senior Associate Chief Counsel

Stephanie Maloney is the Chief of Staff and Senior Associate Chief Counsel at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Centre.

The U.S. Chamber Litigation Centre is the legal advocacy arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — the world’s largest business federation. The Litigation Centre argues cases before federal and state courts across the United States, with a particular focus on the Supreme Court, representing business interests in areas including labour law, regulatory policy, constitutional law, and commercial litigation.

The Chief of Staff and Senior Associate Chief Counsel title reflects a senior leadership position within one of the most active and influential Supreme Court litigation shops in America. The Litigation Centre files amicus briefs in virtually every significant Supreme Court case with business implications, and its arguments are taken seriously by the Court.

For Stephanie Maloney Katz to hold this role — while raising three children under five with a husband who travels constantly for a podcast recording schedule — is an organisational achievement as much as a professional one. She is not simply a lawyer. She is a senior legal executive at an institution that shapes American business law.

How Did Big Cat and Stephanie Meet?

Big Cat keeps things close to his chest — like whether he’s married to longtime romantic partner Stephanie “Lady Cat” Maloney — but his fans can safely draw the conclusion that the wealthy sports personality will maintain his personal life’s privacy.

The most commonly reported origin story — sourced from various outlets rather than from Dan Katz’s own confirmed public statements — places their first meeting at a mutual friend’s gathering in New York City in approximately 2014. Dan, already gaining fame with Barstool Sports, was instantly smitten by Stephanie’s wit and charm. Stephanie, on the other hand, had no idea who “Big Cat” was but found herself drawn to Dan’s humor and down-to-earth personality.

Whether the exact circumstances of their meeting are precisely as multiple sources describe is unverifiable — because neither Dan nor Stephanie has publicly confirmed these details. What is consistent across sources is that their relationship was established well before the explosive growth of Pardon My Take, meaning that Stephanie’s entry into Dan’s life predates the podcast success that made him nationally famous.

Their relationship is a case study in how pre-fame partnerships often produce the most stable marriages in celebrity culture. Partners who were present before success tend to serve as grounding forces because they have no illusions about who the person really is beneath the public persona

Marriage — Private, Intentional, and Deliberately Undocumented

The exact date of Dan Katz and Stephanie Maloney’s marriage is not publicly confirmed. Sources vary between 2016 and 2019, with the most credible estimate suggesting the ceremony took place around 2016, with their formal relationship confirmed by the birth of their first child in June 2019.

Yes, Dan Katz is married and has been for several years. She is widely referred to as Stephanie Maloney Katz, though she remains private. Dan Katz has not publicly confirmed details, but the name is commonly associated.

True to their private nature, Dan Katz and wife Stephanie opted for an intimate wedding ceremony. The event was attended by close family, friends, and a few select colleagues from Barstool Sports.

Dan Katz has occasionally referred to his wife on the podcast as “Lady Cat” — the nickname that has become how his audience identifies her. Beyond that affectionate nickname and the birth announcements for their three children, he has shared essentially nothing specific about her identity, her career, or her personal details. When it comes to his family, he explicitly says he intends to keep them out of the spotlight

Children — Three Births Announced on Twitter/X

This is the one area where Dan Katz has allowed brief, joyful public windows into his private family life — the announcements of each child’s birth.

Dan and Stephanie are parents of three children: two sons and a daughter. Their first son, born in June 2019, was announced by Katz on X, sharing his newfound fatherhood experience. They welcomed their daughter in May 2021. The American podcaster expressed his joy on his social media platform. Dan and Stephanie Maloney welcomed their youngest child in May 2023. The podcast host posted on X (Twitter) about his arrival, stating: “Baby boy has arrived. Mom and baby are doing great. I cried my eyes out again. Best thing in the world. Someday, when he’s older, we’ll watch back Rough and Rowdy 21 and have a good laugh about how I almost missed his birth because Shizzat Da Rizzat was in a retirement bout.”

That final birth announcement — the combination of genuine, tearful joy and a quintessentially Barstool-flavoured callback to a boxing event he almost stayed at — is peak Dan Katz. It is also one of the more humanising moments in his public career: a man crying at the birth of his third child while also being self-aware enough to make a joke about the absurdity of his professional life creating any ambiguity about whether he would be there.

Three children in four years — born in June 2019, May 2021, and May 2023 — means that Stephanie Maloney Katz has been pregnant or a new mother for the majority of her husband’s most celebrated professional period. She did this while maintaining a senior position at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Centre. That is, in every meaningful sense of the phrase, an extraordinary human feat.

Big Cat’s Net Worth — The Financial Context

Big Cat built a media empire worth $15–20 million

Katz has referenced owning shares in Barstool. A large portion of the company was sold to Penn Entertainment.

His income derives from his Barstool Sports salary, Pardon My Take podcast revenue — which, at 1.5 million downloads per episode, generates substantial advertising income — equity stakes in Barstool, brand deals, and various media investments. The net worth estimates of $15–20 million reflect the cumulative value of a decade-long run as one of the most downloaded podcast hosts in America, in a media company that went through a major valuation event with the Penn Entertainment transaction.

Stephanie Maloney Katz’s professional income — from a senior position at one of Washington’s most active Supreme Court litigation shops — adds a second substantial professional income to the household. The family’s financial position is, by any reasonable measure, very comfortable.

Why Their Privacy Matters — A Genuine Choice in a World That Penalises It

What makes Big Cat wife such a topic of fascination is the dramatic contrast between Dan’s hyper-public professional life and his completely sealed personal world. In an industry where sports media personalities often share personal details openly, Big Cat has drawn an unbreakable line around his family.

The decision to maintain that boundary — across podcast episodes, social media posts, public appearances, and a decade of massive audience growth — is not accidental or passive. It is active and consistent and requires constant discipline in an environment that rewards disclosure. Dan Katz has, on more than one occasion, been directly asked about his wife and deflected with warmth but without wavering.

Stephanie’s zero social media presence — no Instagram, no Twitter, no LinkedIn visible to the public — in an era when even the most private celebrities maintain some form of online presence, is itself a statement. It is the statement of someone who does not define herself through the platform her husband has built, and who does not need the validation of public attention to feel secure in who she is. For a woman who has clerked for Fifth Circuit judges and written Supreme Court briefs, that security is probably earned.

Conclusion

Stephanie Maloney Katz is not a mystery. She is a Notre Dame Law graduate who clerked for two federal judges, wrote Supreme Court briefs at one of America’s most prestigious law firms, and now serves as Chief of Staff and Senior Associate Chief Counsel at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Centre — one of the most consequential Supreme Court litigation operations in the country. She has three children under six, lives in Chicago, and has never once made a public appearance alongside the podcast host with 1.5 million listeners per episode who calls her Lady Cat.

The question Who is Big Cat’s wife? can be answered completely: Stephanie Maloney Katz, attorney, mother of three, and one of the most rigorously private figures in American sports media. But the more interesting question — the one this biography has tried to answer — is who she is when her husband is not in the room. And the answer to that question suggests someone far more substantive than the label “celebrity spouse” would imply.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Who is Big Cat’s wife? Dan Katz’s wife, Stephanie Maloney, is an American law practitioner. She is the Chief of Staff and Senior Associate Chief Counsel at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Centre. Stephanie studied law at Notre Dame Law School.

2. How old is Big Cat (Dan Katz)? Dan Katz was born on January 30, 1985, making him 40 years old as of 2025. Stephanie Maloney Katz’s birthdate has not been publicly confirmed.

3. Where is Big Cat from? He was born in Newton, Massachusetts, grew up there, and spent much of his life in the Chicagoland area. He and Stephanie currently live in Chicago, Illinois.

4. How many children do Big Cat and Stephanie Maloney have? Dan and Stephanie are parents of three children: two sons and a daughter. Their first son was born in June 2019, their daughter in May 2021, and their youngest son in May 2023.

5. What does Stephanie Maloney Katz do for a living? Stephanie Maloney is the Chief of Staff and Senior Associate Chief Counsel at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Centre. Before that, Maloney worked as an associate in the Appellate and Critical Motions Practice Group at Winston and Strawn LLP, concentrating on briefing and strategy in complex commercial and appellate disputes, including merits and amicus filings to the United States Supreme Court.

6. What is Big Cat’s net worth? Big Cat built a media empire worth an estimated $15–20 million, earned through his Barstool Sports salary, Pardon My Take podcast revenue, equity interests in Barstool, and various brand and media deals.

7. Is Stephanie Maloney Katz on social media? Stephanie Maloney Katz has no verified social media accounts and has never made a public appearance alongside Dan. She maintains complete privacy across all platforms.

8. Where did Stephanie Maloney Katz go to law school? Stephanie Maloney studied law at Notre Dame Law School. She subsequently clerked for two federal judges before entering private practice and then public interest legal work.