Sharif Abdel Kouddous was born in California, United States and raised in Cairo, Egypt. He attended the British International School in Cairo and left for the United States when he was eighteen years old. He attended the Duke University and obtained a degree in economics and a minor in philosophy. He worked for Bank of America as an investment banker for two years its leveraged buyout division. He joined 'Democracy Now!' in 2003 as a volunteer and then as a full-time producer. He covered several prominent events for 'Democracy Now!' such as the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the 2011 Egyptian revolution. He shot to international fame during the 2011 Egyptian popular uprising, for his tweets and live reporting from Tahrir Square. He has written for prominent newspapers and magazines such as 'The Nation' and has appeared in popular television shows including including MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, The Ed Schultz Show, and Hardball with Chris Matthews. In 2008, he was arrested in Saint Paul, Minnesota and charged with suspicion of felony riot while covering the street protests during the Republican National Convention being held there. In 2011 he moved to Egypt to cover the region for 'Democracy Now!'