London-born broadcast journalist Christiane Amanpour has covered some of the world’s most newsworthy events for CNN, ABC and CBS.
Background and Early Career
Christiane Amanpour was born on January 12, 1958, in London, England. The daughter of an English mother and Iranian father and the oldest of four sisters, she spent time in Tehran, Iran, while growing up.
An accomplished equestrian who competed as a child jockey, she was sent to a Catholic girls’ boarding school in England at 11 years old. Her world was turned upside down in 1979 when the revolution toppled the shah of Iran, spurring her family into exile and sparking Christiane’s future career interest.
As a college student, Amanpour studied journalism. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island, graduating summa cum laude, Amanpour went to work behind the cameras as an electronic graphics designer at WJAR-TV in Providence. Remaining in the city, Amanpour became a radio reporter and producer for WBRU in 1981.
International Reporter at CNN
Amanpour went to work as an assistant at the international assignment desk for CNN in 1983. Though initially facing resistance from being put on the air due to her accent and dark hair, she first gained notice for her 1985 report on her home nation of Iran, winning the DuPont Award. But it was her historical coverage of the Bosnian crisis in the late 1980s and early 1990s that helped make her the internationally recognized correspondent she is today. The world also tuned in to watch her reports during the first war with Iraq, with Amanpour covering other troubled spots like Haiti, Rwanda, Somalia and Afghanistan, among other regions.
Along with her coverage of key international events, Amanpour has interviewed many of the world’s top leaders, including then-British prime minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac after the attacks of September 11. She also obtained the first interview with King Abdullah of Jordan and interviewed other Middle Eastern heads of state, including Mohammad Khatami and Hosni Mubarak.
Awards and Later Work
Amanpour has received several awards for her journalism. She has won nine Emmys, several Peabody awards, an Edward R. Murrow Award and recognition from the Library of American Broadcasting. Besides her role as CNN’s chief international correspondent, helming a number of arresting documentaries on global social issues, she has worked for CBS News on their award-winning program 60 Minutes as a reporter.
In March 2010, after 27 years, Amanpour announced her departure from CNN to ABC News, where she became the anchor of This Week, staying with the program for more than a year. She was later appointed global affairs anchor of ABC News and made a return to CNN via its international station.
In December 2017, after PBS severed professional ties with Charlie Rose over sexual harassment allegations, the organization announced that member stations had the option of rebroadcasting Amanpour’s CNN International show, rebranded Amanpour on PBS, in Rose’s old time slot.
Husband and Son
Amanpour married to James Rubin, a former adviser to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in 1998. The couple has a son, Darius.
This biography was culled from https://www.biography.com/media-figure/christiane-amanpour
