Ann Curry

Infobox journalist
name = Ann Curry


caption = Ann Curry in Antarctica, 2007-11-07
birthname =
birth_date = birth date and age|1956|11|19
birth_place = Guam
age =
death_date =
death_place =
education =
occupation = Television Personality
Television Journalist
alias =
gender = Female
status = Married
title = Correspondent / Anchor
family =
spouse = Brian Ross
children = McKenzie
Walker
relatives =
ethnic =
religion =
salary =
networth =
credits = "Today Show" (1997–)
"Dateline NBC" (2005–)
agent =
URL = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12536386/

Ann Curry (born November 19 1956) is an American television news journalist and news anchor on NBC's morning television program "Today" since May 1997 and host of "Dateline NBC" since May 2005. Along with Lester Holt, she is the primary substitute for Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News.

Biography

Curry was born in Guam to a Japanese mother and a father of predominantly French and Scots-Irish descent from Pueblo, Colorado. Her American father, a career Navy man,cite web |url=http://flash.uoregon.edu/F03/curry.html |title=Ann Curry: Living the dream |accessdate=2007-07-27 |last=Mack |first=Ann |work=Flash |publisher=University of Oregon] met her mother during the U.S. occupation of Japan following the Second World War. The U.S. military did not initially allow the marriage, but her father returned to Japan two years later to marry his bride.

Curry was raised in San Diego and Alameda, California; Japan; Virginia Beach, Virginia and Ashland, Oregon, where she graduated from Ashland High School . In 1978, she graduated with a BA in Journalism from the University of Oregon. [ [http://www.nndb.com/people/455/000109128/ Ann Curry bio] from Notable Names Database]

She is married to software executive Brian Ross whom she met in college. They have a daughter, McKenzie, and a son, Walker. The family lives in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of New York City.

Professional career

Curry began her broadcasting career in 1978 as an intern at then, NBC-affiliate, now CBS-affiliate KTVL in Medford, Oregon. There she rose to become the station's first female news reporter. In 1981, Curry moved to NBC-affiliate KGW [ [http://www.kgw.com/about/history_kgw-tv/history.html KGW-TV HISTORY] retrieved 2007-07-28] in Portland, where she was a reporter and anchor.

Three years later, Curry moved to Los Angeles as a reporter for KCBS-TV and received two Emmy Awards while working as a reporter from 1984 to 1990.

In 1990, Curry joined NBC News, first as the NBC News Chicago correspondent then as the anchor of NBC News at Sunrise from 1991 to 1996. During this time, she also served as a substitute anchor and news anchor for the NBC news shows "Today" and "Weekend Today". In May 2005, Curry was named co-anchor of "Dateline NBC" with Stone Phillips; she remained as the primary anchor when Phillips left in June 2007. She also continues as news anchor at "Today", and is the show's second-longest serving news anchor, behind Frank Blair, who served in that capacity from 1953 to 1975. Since September 2007 Curry has been one of the three anchors for TODAY's third hour. She is also a substitute anchor for "NBC Nightly News" weekend editions.

Curry is known for her international reporting of major stories, filing stories from places such as Baghdad, Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Albania, and Darfur. Curry hosted NBC's primetime coverage and highlights of the Live Earth concerts on July 7, 2007 and also contributed with interviews for the special with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Al Gore. Curry reported from the USS Theodore Roosevelt during the invasion of Afghanistan in November 2001, and had an exclusive interview with General Tommy Franks. She reported from Baghdad in early 2003, and then from the USS Constellation as the war in Iraq began. Ann was also the first network news anchor to report from inside the Southeast Asian tsunami zone in late 2004.

On December 17, 2007, Curry bungee jumped off the world famous Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough, England to raise money for charity. Her jump was shown live on the Today show at about 8:13 am. During a February 4, 2008 appearance as a guest on NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", she discussed that jump, and she invited Conan to do a bungee jump with her. When asked if she would ever bungee jump again she responded by saying she would jump again if he would jump with her.

Volunteerism

*Multiple Myeloma Research Foundationcite news |first=Giacinta |last=Pace |title=Cause Celeb: Ann Curry |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19334435/ |publisher=MSNBC |date=2007-06-27 |accessdate=2007-07-28]
*Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
*Americares
*Save the Children
*Médecins Sans Frontières
*Airline Ambassadors

Awards

*Emmy Awards, presented for coverage of the 1987 Los Angeles earthquake; another presented for reporting on the explosion of a San Bernardino gas pipeline, [ [http://www.irishabroad.com/irishworld/irishamericamag/aprilmay05/features/television&radio.asp Ann Curry article] retrieved 2007-07-28] and a third in 2007 for her reporting on NBC Nightly News about the Darfur crisis [ cite news |first=Matea |last=Gold |title=PBS is star of news Emmy show |url=http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/emmys/env-et-newsemmywebsep25,0,4559127.story |publisher=Los Angeles Times |date=2007-09-25 |accessdate=2007-09-25]
*Golden Mic (4), presented by Radio & Television News Association of Southern California (RTNA)
*"Certificate of Excellence", Associated Press
*Gracie, presented by The Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television
*"Excellence in Reporting", presented by the NAACP
*"National Journalism Award", presented by the Asian American Journalists Association, 2003 [ [http://www.tv.com/ann-curry/person/248383/biography.htmlAnn Curry bio] retrieved 2007-07-28]
*"Pioneer Award", presented by University of Oregon, 2003
*Hall of Achievement induction, University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, 2002 [http://www.irishabroad.com/irishworld/irishamericamag/aprilmay05/features/television&radio.asp retrieved 2007-07-28]
*"Sexiest Newscaster", as voted on by readers of Ask Men magazine [ [http://www.askmen.com/women/models_300/314_ann_curry.html AskMen.com - Ann Curry ] ]
*Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service, presented by PNC Bank for outstanding achievements in mass communications, 2008

Funded scholarship

*"Ann Curry Scholarship for University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication Broadcasting Students", 2002

References

External links

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* [http://talkshows.about.com/od/anncurry/p/profile.htm Bio on About.com]