Mika Brzezinski

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Mika Brzezinski Hoffer
Image:Replace this image female.svg
Birth name Mika Emilie Leonia Brzezinski
Born May 2, 1967 (1967-05-02) (age 41)
Birth place New York, New York Flag of the United States
Education Williams College, 1989
Circumstances
Occupation Television journalist
Title Co-host: Morning Joe
Spouse James Patrick Hoffer (October 23, 1993)
Children 2 Children
Notable relatives Zbigniew Brzezinski (Father)
Emilie Anna Benes (Mother)
Ethnicity Polish and Czech
Religious belief(s) Roman Catholic
Notable credit(s)

Mika Emilie Leonia Brzezinski (born May 2, 1967) is a television news journalist at MSNBC. Brzezinski is co-host of MSNBC's weekday morning program, Morning Joe. In addition to providing regular commentary, she also reads the news headlines for the program. Brzezinski also anchors the 9am ET hour of MSNBC Live. Additionally she reports for NBC Nightly News, and serves as alternating news anchor on Weekend Today. Previously, she was a CBS News anchor and correspondent.

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[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Brzezinski was born in New York City, the daughter of foreign policy expert and former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski and sculptor Emilie Anna Benes. Her father was then teaching at Columbia University, but the family moved to McLean, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., in late 1976, when Zbigniew was named National Security Advisor by newly-elected President Jimmy Carter.

Brzezinski attended The Madeira School during her high-school years. She graduated in 1989 from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where she majored in English, after transferring in from Georgetown University as a junior. Since 1993, Brzezinski has been married to TV news reporter James Hoffer, now of WABC TV/WABC-DT.[1] They have two children.

[edit] Television news career

Brzezinski began her journalism career as an assistant at ABC's World News This Morning in 1990. A year later, she moved to Tribune-owned FOX affiliate WTIC-TV/WTIC-DT in Hartford, Connecticut. There, she progressed from assignment and features editor to general assignments reporter. In 1992, she joined CBS affiliate WFSB-TV/WFSB-DT (also in Hartford) and quickly progressed through the ranks to become its weekday morning anchor in 1995. In 1997, she left that role to join the CBS network news, where she served as a correspondent and as anchor for the overnight Up to the Minute news program.

In 2000, Brzezinski began a short hiatus from CBS, during which she worked for rival MSNBC on the weekday afternoon show, Home Page, with co-anchors Gina Gaston and Ashleigh Banfield. She returned to CBS as a correspondent in September 2001, which thrust her into the limelight as a principal "Ground Zero" reporter for the September 11, 2001 attacks. Brzezinski was broadcasting live from the scene when the South Tower collapsed. (Coincidentally, her former MSNBC co-anchor, Ashleigh Banfield, was also reporting from Ground Zero for MSNBC.)

In her last position at CBS, Brzezinski served as a CBS News correspondent, substitute anchor, and segment anchor for breaking news segments and routine updates. During this period she was also a frequent contributor to CBS Sunday Morning.

Brzezinski returned to MSNBC on January 26, 2007, doing the evening "Up To The Minute" news updates. Since then she has anchored primetime newsbreaks during the week, filling in on MSNBC Live weekdays and on the weekends. Currently Mika Brzezinski appears daily as a co-host and news reader on MSNBC's morning program, Morning Joe and anchor of MSNBC Live at 9am.

[edit] References

Preceded by
Nanette Hansen
CBS News: Up to the Minute anchor
1997–2000
Succeeded by
Melissa McDermott

[edit] External links