Ann Curry

Ann Curry
Curry at the 2012 Time 100
Born	(1956-11-19) November 19, 1956 (age 55) Guam, United States
Alma mater	University of Oregon
Occupation	Television personality Television journalist
Years active	1978–present
Notable credit(s)	Today Show   (1997–present) Dateline NBC   (2005–2011) Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade  (2011–present)
Title	Correspondent/Anchor
Spouse	Brian Ross
Children	McKenzie William Walker
Website
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12536386/

Ann Curry (born November 19, 1956) is an American television news journalist, photojournalist,^[1] and co-anchor on NBC's morning television program Today. She is the former news anchor on Today, a role she began in March 1997, and was the host of Dateline NBC from 2005–2011.^[2]

Curry is a Board Member at the International Women's Media Foundation.^[3]

Biography

Curry was born in Guam to Bob Curry, of Cherokee, French, German, Scottish and Irish descent from Pueblo, Colorado, and Hiroe Nagase, originally from Japan.^[4] Her American father, a career Navy man,^[5] met her mother during the U.S. occupation of Japan following the Second World War. The U.S. military initially did not allow the marriage, but her father returned to Japan two years later to marry Nagase.

Curry lived in Japan for several years as a child, attending the Ernest J. King School on the military base in Sasebo. Later she moved to Ashland, Oregon, where she graduated from Ashland High School. She graduated with a BA in Journalism from the University of Oregon in 1978.^[6]

Curry was raised Roman Catholic by her mother, who was a convert to the religion.

Curry is married to software executive, Brian Ross, whom she met in college. They have a daughter, McKenzie, and a son, William Walker Curry Ross. 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 1980, Curry moved to NBC-affiliate KGW^[7] in Portland, where she was a reporter and anchor.

Four 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. Curry also served as a substitute news anchor for Matt Lauer from 1994 to 1997 at Today. From 1997 to 2011, she served as news anchor at Today, being the show's second-longest serving news anchor, behind Frank Blair, who served in that capacity from 1953 to 1975. During this time, she also served as a substitute anchor for 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 and has since moved off the show after replacing Meredith Viera on Today in 2011.

Curry has been known at NBC News for anchoring three of the four major broadcasts. She has read the news on The Today Show since March 11, 1997, she has anchored Dateline NBC. From 2005 to 2011, she was the primary substitute on NBC Nightly News. In 2007, after Lester Holt took over weekend editions (Holt had previously been the primary substitute but left that position to become weekend anchor, giving Curry the position), there have even been days when Curry has anchored all three broadcasts in one day. A segment on Today, Ann on the Run, follows Curry around a day where she must read the news on Today, tape Dateline, and fill in live for Brian Williams on Nightly News.

Curry covering the 2009 Commander in Chief's Ball, with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen

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, asked if she would ever bungee jump again, Curry said she would if O'Brien would jump with her.

Ann Curry replaced Meredith Vieira as co-host on June 9, 2011, with national correspondent Natalie Morales replacing Curry as news reader.

In 2011, Ann Curry appeared in the first PBS Kids Sprout "Kindness Counts" PSA.

Volunteerism

• Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation^[8]
• Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation^[8]
• Americares^[8]
• Save the Children^[8]
• Médecins Sans Frontières^[8]
• Airline Ambassadors^[8]
• Buildon^[9]

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,^[10] and a third in 2007 for her reporting on NBC Nightly News about the Darfur crisis.^[11]
• Golden Mic (4), presented by Radio & Television News Association of Southern California (RTNA)
• Certificate of Excellence, Associated Press
• Gracie Award, 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^{[citation needed]}
• Pioneer Award, presented by University of Oregon, 2003
• Hall of Achievement induction, University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, 2002^[5][10]
• Sexiest Newscaster and "Hottest MILF Newscaster" as voted on by readers of Ask Men magazine ^[12]
• Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service, presented by PNC Bank for outstanding achievements in mass communications, 2008
• Honorary Doctorate in Journalism from Southern Oregon University on 6/5/2010 after giving the commencement address
• Curry received an honorary degree from Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island on May 16, 2010.
• She received an honorary doctorate from the Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts on May 22, 2010.^[13] There she delivered the graduation keynote address. However, she gaffed as she cited several famous alumni, only one of which graduated from that college. The others graduated from the Wheaton College near Chicago. Curry apologized for the gaffe.^[14]

Funded scholarship

• Ann Curry Scholarship for University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication Broadcasting Students, 2002^[5]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ann Curry

• Ann Curry on Twitter
• Ann Curry at the Internet Movie Database
• Bio on About.com