Ann Curry Biography

Ann Curry (born November 19, 1956) is an American television personality, news journalist and photojournalist. In June 2012, she became the National and International Correspondent/Anchor for NBC News and the Anchor at Large for the Today show. She was co-anchor of Today from June 9, 2011 to June 28, 2012 and the program's news anchor from March 1997 until becoming co-anchor. She was also the anchor of Dateline NBC from 2005 to 2011.

Biography

Curry was born in Guam to Bob Curry, an American from Pueblo, Colorado who is of Cherokee, French, German, Scottish and Irish descent, and Hiroe Nagase, who is from Japan. Her father, a career Navy man, 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 United States Fleet Activities Sasebo naval base in Sasebo, Nagasaki. Later she moved to Ashland, Oregon, where she graduated from Ashland High School. She graduated with a BA in journalism at the University of Oregon in 1978.

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

Curry is married to Brian Ross, a software executive, whom she met in college. They have a daughter, McKenzie, and a son, William Walker Curry Ross. The family lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Curry is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Women's Media Foundation.

Professional career

1978-1989

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 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.

1990-2012

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, becoming 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, until she replaced Meredith Vieira on Today in 2011. She was the primary substitute on NBC Nightly News from 2005 to 2011.

Curry has reported on major international 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 former Vice President Al Gore. Curry reported from the 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 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 Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough, England to raise money for charity. Her jump was shown live on the Today show at approximately 8:13 am.

In 2009, Curry traveled to Iran where she interviewed then-President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and report from the isolated nation just days before Ahmadinejad traveled to America to speak in front of the United Nations General Assembly. Among the subjects she talked to Ahmadinejad about was the imprisonment of two American hikers in Iran. Ahmadinejad would later choose Curry to reveal that the hikers were going to be released.

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

Departure from Today

It was widely reported in June 2012 that Curry would be replaced as co-host of Today. Curry hired attorney Robert Barnett to represent her in her discussions with NBC.

On June 28, 2012, Curry announced in an emotional broadcast on the show that she was leaving Today. She signed a new multi-year contract with the network as NBC News National and International Correspondent/Anchor and Today Anchor at Large. She leads a seven-person unit producing content and reporting for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, for which she also is a regular substitute anchor, Dateline NBC, Rock Center with Brian Williams, Today, and MSNBC. Curry also anchors multiple NBC News primetime specials.

On August 9, 2012, Curry made her first post-departure appearance on Today, when she reported a story during the show's coverage at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The reunion with her former co-anchor, Matt Lauer, was described in the media as "tense", "awkward", and "chilly". In September 2013, Lauer said he was disappointed in the way the media reported Curry's departure.

Volunteering

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

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, and a third in 2007 for her reporting on NBC Nightly News about the Darfur crisis.
• 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
• Pioneer Award, presented by University of Oregon, 2003
• Hall of Achievement induction, University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, 2002
• 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. There she delivered the graduation keynote address. However, she erred as she cited several famous alumni, only one of whom graduated from that college. The others graduated from the Wheaton College near Chicago. Curry apologized for the gaffe.

Funded scholarship

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