Christiane Amanpour Biography

Christiane Amanpour is a famous British-Iranian journalist born on January 12, 1958, in London, England. She is a television host and Chief International Correspondent for CNN and hosts the nightly interview program Amanpour in CNN International.

EARLY YEARS

Amanpour was born in London but raised in Tehran and she is fluent in English and Persian. Her Parents are Patricia and Mahmoud Amanpour who was Muslim from Iran. 

Amanpour was sent to a boarding school named Holy Cross Convent in Chalfont St.Peter, Buckinghamshire at the age of eleven. Before that, she was studying in Iran. At the age of 16, she attended New Hall School in Chelmsford, Essex.

Amanpour studied journalism at the University of Rhode Island and worked in the news department at WBRU-FM in Providence, Rhode Island during her studies. She also worked in WJAR which was affiliated with NBC. She did her Bachelors in journalism from University Summa Cum Laude.

CAREER

Amanpour was hired by CNN in Atlanta, Georgia on the foreign desk in 1983 which was entry level desk assistant. Her first major assignment was to cover Iran-Iraq war and later she was transferred to Eastern Europe  to report the fall of European Communism 1986. Her reports about Persian Gulf War make her well-known face. She often considered as fearless for reporting news from many conflict zones and Bosnian war and Seige of Sarajevo.

Amanpour has reported from various riot-hit zones, major crisis and hotspots like Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Palestinian territories, Pakistan, Rwanda, Balkans, and Somalia. She was a major reporter during Hurricane Katrina and she also has interviewed the world most influential leaders like Mohammad Khatami and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Iranian Presidents), Tony Blair, Pervez Musharraf, Jacques Chirac, Moammar Gadhafi and Hillary Clinton.Amanpour also interviewed with Angelina Jolie and ConstantineII of Greece.

On March 2002, she interviewed Yasser Arafat live on the telephone which was one one of the memorable moment in her television career.In late 2013 Amanpour pushed the case of Syrian Crisis as an expert and appeared in several programs and pushed Obama Administration line for War.

Amanpour is the Member of Center for Public Integrity, International Women’s Media Foundation, Committee to Protect Journalist and Institute For  War and Peace Reporting.

PERSONAL LIFE & HONORS

Amanpour is married to former US Assistant Secretary of State and spokesman of US State Department James Rubin. The couple has the son Darius John Rubin (2000) and they are living in London.

Amanpour has various media and screen appearances like Gilmore Girls, Harper’s Bazaar as well as in Iron Man 2 and Pink Panther 2 where she played herself as a news reader. She voiced the character Enheduanna in Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.

Amanpour has been honored with Livingston Award (1992), George Foster Peabody and George Polk Award (1993), Courage Award by International Women’s Meida Foundation (1994), Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Emory University, Edward R. Murrow Award (2002), Honorary doctorate degree from University of Michigan (2006), Paul White Award (2007),  Celebrating Women Award from The New York Women’s Foundation (2008), Honorary doctorate degree from Northwestern University and Georgia State University (2010), Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication for excellence in journalism (2011) and Honorary Doctorate degree from Amherst College and University of Southern California (2012). 

Forbes Magazine also named her as one of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” list and she has a good net worth.

• journalist