Soledad O'Brien

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María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien [1](b. September 19, 1966) is an American television journalist. She is an anchor of the CNN Special Investigations Unit, the umbrella-titled program featuring documentary programs produced on the North American CNN television service. Her common surname with her past co-anchor Miles O'Brien is a coincidence.

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[edit] Personal Life

Her father Edward, an Australian ( from Toowoomba, Australia [2]) of Irish descent, was a mechanical engineering professor [3]. Her mother Estella, an Afro-Cuban, was a French and English teacher [4]. Soledad is the fifth of six kids, who all graduated from Harvard University.[5]

Soledad's parents married in 1959 in Washington, D.C. and moved to the Long Island community of St. James, 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.[6]

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.[7]

Soledad attended Harvard and Radcliffe College, studying English and American Studies and taking a lot of science courses including summer classes at the State University of NY at Stonybrook "with the crazed notion of becoming a doctor". In 1987, she dropped out of college for a job in news. Thirteen years later in 2000 while pregnant she returned to Harvard and completed her degree. Soledad jokes, "There's not an O'Brien Library at Harvard, but with all our tuitions, there should be.

She graduated from Harvard University, with a degree in English language and American literature.

Since 1995 Soledad has been married to Morgan Stanley investment banker Bradley Raymond. Together they have two daughters and two sons. Sofia Elizabeth was born 23 October 2000 and Cecilia was born 20 March 2002. On Monday 30 Aug 04 twin sons were born.

[edit] Broadcasting career

On MSNBC's The Site, Soledad O'Brien talked with virtual character Dev Null (Leo Laporte)
On MSNBC's The Site, Soledad O'Brien talked with virtual character Dev Null (Leo Laporte)

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 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 ex head of FEMA Michael Brown.

O'Brien began anchoring CNN's flagship morning program from New York City in July 2003, when she joined the network. Years before, she was a regular correspondent known as the "Cyber Diver" on the Discovery Channel's show, The Know Zone.

[edit] 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.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Edelhart, Courtenay. "CNN's O'Brien embraces her own diversity", Indianapolis Star, 2005-10-24. Retrieved on April 2, 2006.
  2. ^ http://web.njit.edu/~ronkowit/Soledad/soledad95.html
  3. ^ http://www.hispaniconline.com/magazine/2005/June/CoverStory/index.html
  4. ^ http://www.hispaniconline.com/magazine/2005/June/CoverStory/index.html
  5. ^ http://www.hispaniconline.com/magazine/2005/June/CoverStory/index.html
  6. ^ "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me", NPR, August 19, 2006. Retrieved on August 19, 2006.
  7. ^ O'Brien encourages diversity in journalism, Butler University Dawgnet, October 30, 2005

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME O'Brien, María de la Soledad
ALTERNATIVE NAMES O'Brien, Soledad
SHORT DESCRIPTION CNN news anchor
DATE OF BIRTH September 19, 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH St. James, New York
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../s/o/l/Soledad_O%27Brien_7465.html"