Soledad O'Brien

Soledad O'Brien
Born	September 19 1966 (1966-09-19) (age 41) St. James, New York
Occupation	News anchor (CNN)
Spouse	Bradford Raymond
Children	Sofia Elizabeth October 23 2000 (2000-10-23) (age 7), Cecilia March 20 2002 (2002-03-20) (age 6), Charlie and Jackson both August 30 2004 (2004-08-30) (age 3)

María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien^[1] (born September 19, 1966 in St. James, New York) is an American television journalist of Australian, Irish and Afro-Cuban heritage. She is currently the host of CNN Special Investigations Unit on CNN. O'Brien is most known for anchoring the CNN marquee morning newscast American Morning from July 2003 ^[2]- April 3, 2007, with Miles O'Brien; their common surnames are coincidences. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.[1]

Personal life

Soledad's parents, both immigrants, met at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland in 1958.

My parents were both immigrants—my mother from Cuba, my father from Australia. Both attended daily Mass at the church near campus. Every day my father would offer my mother a ride. Every day, she declined. Finally she said yes. One year later, the day after Christmas, the two of them were married.^[3]

Soledad's parents married in 1959 in Washington, D.C.. Her father Edward, an Australian (from Toowoomba, Australia^[4]) of Irish descent, was a mechanical engineering professor.^[5] Her mother Estella, a Black Cubana (Afro-Cuban), was a French and English teacher.^[6] Soledad is the fifth of six kids, who all graduated from Harvard University. Her older siblings are law professor Maria (b. 1961); corporate lawyer Cecilia (b. 1962), Tony (b. 1963) who heads a documents company;^[7] eye surgeon Estela (b. 1964); and anesthesiologist Orestes (b. 1968).^[8] Interracial marriage in Maryland was illegal back then, so the couple married in Washington, D.C. The O'Briens then moved to the Long Island community of St. James, a charming old town on Long Island’s affluent North Shore, where Soledad was born and raised. On the NPR quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, O'Brien explained that in Spanish her full name means, "The Blessed Virgin Mary of Solitude." When she started working in TV, many people recommended that she change her name, but she refused.^[9] Despite her partial Latina heritage, O'Brien doesn't speak Spanish fluently. That has resulted in some awkward exchanges with people who assume she does, including former vice-president Al Gore.^[10] Since 1995 Soledad has been married to Bradley Raymond, co-head of investment banking at Thomas Weisel Partners. Together they have two daughters and twin sons: Sofia Elizabeth (born October 23, 2000; Cecilia (born March 20, 2002; and Charlie (born at 6:23 pm est weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce) and Jackson (born 6:27pm est weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces) on August 30, 2004.^[11]

Broadcasting career

She began her career as an associate producer and news writer at WBZ-TV, then the NBC affiliate in Boston. O'Brien joined NBC News in 1991, and was based in New York as a field producer for the Nightly News and Today. O'Brien then worked for three years as a local reporter and bureau chief for San Francisco NBC affiliate KRON. At KRON she was a reporter on "The Know Zone." The program later moved to CNET without O'Brien. O'Brien was featured on a regular segment of the Discovery Channel program The Next Step, holding the position of "Sun Microsystems Infogal." O'Brien then anchored MSNBC's weekend morning show and the cable network's award-winning technology program The Site, which aired weeknights from the Spring of 1996 to November 1997. O'Brien came to CNN from NBC News, where she had anchored Weekend Today since July 1999. During that time, she contributed reports for the weekday Today Show and for weekend editions of NBC Nightly News, and covered such notable stories as John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane crash and the 1990s school shootings in Colorado and Oregon. In 2003, she covered the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and later anchored NBC's weekend coverage of the War in Iraq. In 2005, she covered the Hurricane Katrina aftermath in New Orleans where she interviewed then head of FEMA Michael Brown. O'Brien began anchoring CNN's flagship morning program American Morning from New York City in July 2003^[2], when she joined the network. On April 3, 2007 O'Brien was replaced by former Fox News anchor Kiran Chetry (her co-anchor was also replaced), reportedly due to lagging ratings. Soledad has just completed a documentary entitled, "Children of the Storm," directed by acclaimed director Spike Lee. She continues to work as a reporter for CNN,^[12] mainly hosting Special Investigations Unit and sometimes occasionally filling in for Anderson Cooper on Anderson Cooper 360. She also has filled in for Paula Zahn on Paula Zahn Now whenever Zahn was unable to make the broadcast (Zahn has since stopped working for CNN as of August 2, 2007).

Honors and recognitions

O'Brien's work has been honored several times, including a local Emmy for her work co-hosting the Discovery Channel's The Know Zone. She has been named to People's 50 Most Beautiful in 2001 and to People en Español's 50 Most Beautiful in 2004. She was named to Irish American Magazine's "Top 100 Irish Americans" on two occasions. She is also on Black Enterprise magazine's 2005 Hit List. Also in 2005, she was awarded "Groundbreaking Latina of the Year" award by Catalina magazine. Most recently she was awarded the 2007 NAACP President's Award. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She serves on the board of directors of The Harlem School of the Arts. In May 2007, O’Brien gave the keynote address at the undergraduate commencement at Bryant University and was presented with a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree^[13]. She was also the convocation speaker at Cornell University's Commencement on May 26, 2007. O'Brien was also invited to Stony Brook University to speak as part of the university's School of Journalism's 'My Life as...' series. Her section is titled, 'My Life As a CNN Anchor'. O'Brien also spoke at the Binghamton University commencement in December 2007 and received a standing ovation after her speech detailing her disbelief in advice.

References

External links

• Soledad O'Brien, CNN.com biography
• Hispanic Magazine Online - 2005 Cover Story
• Soledad O'Brien at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with O'Brien