Christiane Amanpour

 

Christiane Amanpour was born in London, England on January 12, 1958. She grew up in London and went to New Hall School. She then moved to the United States for college. She went to the University of Rhode Island where she majored in Journalism. She graduated summa cum laude in 1983. During her time in college she worked for a local television station in the news department. After college she went on to work for an NBC affiliate in Providence, but then was hired as an assistant for the international news desk.

By 1986 she was working at CNN's New York City bureau as a producer/correspondent. She received her big break in 1989 when she was promoted to a post in West Frankfurt, Germany. She arrived there right at an opportune time when the pro-democratic movement was sweeping eastern Europe and Amanpour quickly became CNN's on-the-spot reporter. She gained distinction in Europe during the Persian Gulf War and she covered the conflict from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Her reporting was credited with bringing the savage nature of that conflict to the attention of the world. In 1992, she became the chief correspondent. 

In 2010, Amanpour left CNN to join the news division at ABC and became the host of ABC's political affairs show called This Week later in the year. She steeped down from the position, however, in December 2011 and in a special arrangement, she resumed her role at CNN while continuing at ABC as their global affairs anchor.

She returned in 2012 on the CNN International channel and in 2017 it began airing on the Public Broadcasting Service. 

After being off the news for a couple of weeks due to "illness" she came on air on February 7, 2022, and Amanpour told viewers that she has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She said surgery had been successful and that she was undergoing chemotherapy. She said she was sharing the news because she wanted to be transparent, but mostly to emphasize the importance of early diagnosis. 

Amanpour has received numerous honors including an Edward R. Murrow Award (2002), 11 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, and in 2007 she was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.