Chris Wallace | |
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 Wallace at the premiere ofGood Night, and Good Luck in 2025 | |
| Born | Christopher Wallace (1947-10-12)October 12, 1947 (age 78) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1964–present |
| Notable credits |
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| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 6 |
| Parents |
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Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father,60 Minutes journalistMike Wallace.[1] Over his 60-year career in journalism he has been a correspondent, moderator, or anchor onCBS,ABC,NBC,Fox News, andCNN. In 2018, he was ranked one of America's most trusted television news anchors.[2] He has won threeEmmy Awards, aPeabody Award, aGeorge Polk Award, theduPont-Columbia University Silver Baton Award.[3][4]
As a teenager, Wallace became an assistant toWalter Cronkite during the1964 Republican National Convention.[5] After graduating fromHarvard University, he worked as a national reporter forThe Boston Globe.[6] He transitioned towards broadcast news atNBC (1975–1988), where he served as aWhite House correspondent, the Sunday anchor forNBC Nightly News (1982–1984, 1986–1987) and moderator ofMeet the Press (1987–1988). He then worked forABC, where he served as an anchor forPrimetime Thursday andNightline (1989–2003). He is the only person to have served as host and moderator of more than one of the major Americanpolitical Sunday morning talk shows, which he did during his time at NBC.[7]
From 2003 to 2021, he hostedFox News Sunday and took high profile interviews withBarack Obama,Donald Trump, andVladimir Putin.[8][9] He made history when he became the first Fox News journalist to moderate aUnited States Presidential debate in2016 between Donald Trump andHillary Clinton. He returned to moderate the2020 debate between Donald Trump andJoe Biden.[10] In 2021, he left Fox to joinCNN as host of the interview seriesWho's Talking to Chris Wallace? (2022–2024) and anchoredThe Chris Wallace Show (2023–2024).[11][12] In November 2024, Wallace left CNN following the expiration of his three year contract.[13]
Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois,[14] to longtimeCBS60 Minutes reporterMike Wallace and Norma Kaphan.[15] Wallace isJewish;[16] both his parents were Jewish.[17][18] He was named Christopher because he was born onColumbus Day.[19][20] He had an elder brother, Peter (1942–1962), who died at the age of 19 after a mountain climbing accident.[21][22] His parents divorced when he was one year old; he grew up with his mother and stepfatherBill Leonard, President ofCBS News.[23] Leonard gave him early exposure topolitical journalism, hiring him as an assistant toWalter Cronkite at the1964 Republican National Convention. Wallace did not develop a relationship with his father, Mike, until the age of 14.[24]Wallace attended theHotchkiss School andHarvard College.[25] He first reported news on-air forWHRB, the student radio station at Harvard. He memorably covered the 1969 student occupation of University Hall and was detained byCambridge policemen, using his one phone call to sign off a report from Cambridge City Jail with "This is Chris Wallace fromWHRB News reporting from Middlesex County Jail in custody."[26][27]
Although accepted atYale Law School, he decided to work forThe Boston Globe, where his boss described him as an "aggressive and ambitious reporter". He first covered City Hall during the timeKevin White was mayor of Boston and later became a roving national reporter.[28][29] Wallace noticed the power of television when he saw all the reporters at the 1972political conventions were watching the proceedings on television instead of in person. For a time in the early 1970s, he worked for the Chicago stationWBBM-TV, which is owned and operated by CBS.[30]
After seeing the impact television had on news at the1972 Republican National Convention, he focused on working on broadcast news, first atNBC (1975–1988). Wallace began his network journalism career withNBC in 1975, where he stayed for 14 years as a reporter withWNBC-TV in New York City. Wallace then transferred to NBC's Washington bureau as a political correspondent forNBC News and later served as Washington co-anchor and news reader for theToday show withBryant Gumbel andJane Pauley in 1982. That same year, he also served as chiefWhite House correspondent (1982–1989) alongside contemporariesCBS'sLesley Stahl andABC'sSam Donaldson.[31] He later served as anchor of the Sunday edition ofNBC Nightly News (1982–1984, 1986–1987), and moderator ofMeet the Press (1987–1988).
On May 18, 1985, as part of anNBC News special, Wallace did a joint interview withRonald Reagan andNancy Reagan atCamp David.[32] Some journalists have described Wallace's style as confrontational. During PresidentRonald Reagan's news conference in March 1987, when Reagan admitted todealing arms for hostages, Wallace asked Reagan why he had denied that Israel was involved with the arms sales to Iran "when you knew that wasn't true."[33] In 1988, Wallace covered the1988 Republican National Convention forNBC News, where he interviewed political figures, including real estate tycoonDonald Trump questioning him about flirting with running for political office.[34]
Wallace left NBC in late 1988 forABC.[35]Sam Donaldson, ABC's outgoing chief White House correspondent, said he was "delighted" and "very pleased" that Wallace, his journalistic rival, would be joining the network saying, "I've always liked his work, I think he's going to be a plus."[36] AtABC News, Wallace was the senior correspondent forPrimetime Live and occasionally hostedNightline. During thePersian Gulf War in 1991, he reported fromTel Aviv on the IraqiScud missile attacks. At the time, theIsraeli government did not want to advertise where the Scuds landed to prevent the Iraqis from adjusting their launchers. On one episode ofNightline, Wallace started describing the location where a Scud missile landed in Tel Aviv. HostTed Koppel cut him off and asked him to point to a general area rather than give a specific location.[37]
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After 14 years at ABC, Wallace left in 2003 to joinFox News. Wallace began hostingFox News Sunday with Chris Wallace in 2003 after replacingTony Snow. Wallace andShepard Smith gained a reputation at Fox for their reputable status as journalists on the network.[38][39] In an interview with theChicago Tribune,Howard Kurtz wrote, "Fox seems to be inching toward more conventional journalism." When asked about his political opinions, Wallace stated, "Do I have political opinions? Absolutely. But I vote for the person, and I've voted for Republicans and Democrats and independents over the course of my life. I feel very strongly that you try not to let that affect the way you report the news."[38] Fox News ChairmanRoger Ailes called Wallace "one of the best interviewers in the business. ... I have no idea what he thinks personally, but he asks tough questions of everybody."[38]
Throughout his 18 years at Fox, Wallace had participated in coverage of nearly every major political event and secured several high-profile interviews with dignitaries and U.S. leaders. In February 2009, he secured Fox's first interview with PresidentBarack Obama.[40] On March 3, 2016, Wallace joinedBret Baier, andMegyn Kelly in moderating the2016 Republican Party Presidential debate onFox News.[41] In 2017, he interviewed PresidentDonald Trump in his first interview since being elected.
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TheCommission on Presidential Debates selected Chris Wallace as moderator of the third and final2016 Presidential debate betweenDonald Trump andHillary Clinton. The debate was held on October 19, 2016, at theUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas. This was the first time a Fox Newsanchor had moderated a general election presidential debate.[42] After he was selected, Wallace said, "it's not my job" to fact-check candidates, but that it was the job of the opposing candidate.[43] Wallace stated, "I take it very seriously, this is not a TV show. This is part of civics, the constitution, if you will, in action, because this is helping millions of people decide who we're going to elect as the next president".[44]
He received notable praise from both sides of the aisle for his tough questioning of both presidential candidates at that last presidential debate of the 2016 election. Afterward,Jennifer Rubin inThe Washington Post said that, despite her strong disapproval of other Fox News commentators, "No one could watch the final debate and deny that Chris Wallace is among the best in the business."[45]The New York Times wrote, "Mr. Wallace mixed humor with scolding and persistence with patience to guide his charges toward the most substantive encounter of an unusually vicious election."[45][46]
In July 2018, Wallace interviewed Russian leaderVladimir Putin. Wallace questioned Putin about why so many of his political opponents end up dead, and sought to hand Putin papers containing the indictment of 12 Russian agents for interference in the 2016 election. Putin declined to touch the papers.[47][48] According toThe Washington Post's Aaron Blake, Putin was "clearly frustrated by a journalist actually challenging him".[47] According toThe New York Times, Wallace's interview was "widely praised".[49] His interview earned him aNews & Documentary Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Live Interview. However, the winner wasChristiane Amanpour viaCNN International’sAmanpour, in which she interviewed theArchbishop of New York CardinalTimothy Dolan.[50][51] It was the first News & Documentary Award nomination in Fox News' history.[52]
In September 2018, Wallace covered the Supreme Court hearings forBrett Kavanaugh, during which Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault by multiple women, includingChristine Blasey Ford. Wallace described Ford's testimony as "extremely emotional, extremely raw, and extremely credible...nobody could listen to her deliver those words and talk about the assault and the impact it had had on his life, on her life, and not have your heart go out to her. She obviously was traumatized by an event."[53][54] He also described the cross-examination format as "a disaster for the Republicans."[55] When Ford's testimony was criticized by conservative pundits, Wallace discussed how his daughters had related their own previously undisclosed experiences. Wallace said they "hadn't told their parents, I don't know if they told their friends. Certainly had never reported it to police...But the point is that there are teenage girls who don't tell stories to a lot of people, and then it comes up, and I don't think we can disregard that, I don't think we can disregard Christine Blasey Ford and the seriousness of this. I think that would be a big mistake."[56][57]
On January 27, 2020, Wallace got into a heated exchange with conservative punditKatie Pavlich ofTownHall.com onFox News Sunday as to whether or not additional witnesses should be allowed to testify during the2020 Impeachment trial of Donald Trump in the Senate.[58][59] Pavlich argued that Republicans should be allowed to deny Democrats the right to call witnesses during the trial citing the1998 Investigation and Impeachment of Bill Clinton. Wallace objected stating, "So we just shouldn't listen to whatJohn Bolton has to say?", elaborating, "To say in the Clinton investigation, these people who were interviewed by the House — one, they weren't — and to say that it wasn't done by the Justice Department... It wasn't done because the Justice Department refused to carry out the investigation! Get your facts straight!"[60][61]
On July 19, 2020, Wallace sat down with PresidentDonald Trump for a wide-ranging interview outsideThe White House. The interview gained much attention on social media and conventional news outlets for its content. Wallace earned praise for holding Trump accountable and fact-checking him in real time.[62][63] In the midst of the ongoing nationwideBlack Lives Matter protests over themurder of George Floyd, Wallace pressed Trump on his claim thatJoe Biden, the presumptive2020 Democratic presidential nominee wanted to "defund and abolish" the police by replying "No, sir, he does not."[64] In reference to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Wallace also challenged Trump on his exaggerated claims concerning the mortality rate and testing forCOVID-19. When confronted by the statistics, the President responded: "I'll be right eventually." Many have compared the interview style with that of Wallace's father,60 Minutes journalistMike Wallace. This includes Frank Sesno, a professor atGeorge Washington University who teaches a class on "the art of the interview", who stated, "He's very good at this. He's been doing this for a long time. And he's got the Wallace DNA."[63] Many noticed Trump's awkwardness during the interview, includingMeghan McCain who stated onThe View that, "it was the first time I've really seen President Trump squirm."[65]
TheCommission on Presidential Debates (CPD) selected Wallace as moderator of the firstpresidential debate, held on September 29, 2020, atCase Western Reserve University inCleveland, Ohio.[66] The debate was deemed a "disaster" by various news pundits for its lack of decorum, civility, and content. During the debate, Wallace tried to gain control numerous times including stopping the debate and telling the candidates, specifically Trump, "So here's the deal...I think the country would be better served if we allowed both people to speak with fewer interruptions, I'm appealing to you sir".[67]
Numerous post debate polls declared Biden the winner of the debate.[68][69][70] In response to the debate, Wallace shared his frustration with the President in an interview withBill Hemmer where he stated that Trump "bears the primary responsibility for what happened" and that "It was frustrating for me because I tried hard to prepare for a serious debate, much more frustrating and more importantly for the American people because they didn't get the debate they wanted that they deserved."[71] Some viewers, including several Fox News personalities, accused Wallace of unfairness towards Trump, though Fox News executives released a statement commending Wallace's "professionalism, skill and fortitude in a unique situation."[71] The CPD also praised Wallace stating, they were "grateful to Chris Wallace for the professionalism and skill he brought to last night's debate" while also stating they intend to ensure that additional tools to maintain order are in place for the remaining debates."[72][73]
On November 3, Wallace joinedBrit Hume,Juan Williams, andDana Perino inBret Baier andMartha MacCallum'selection night coverage of the2020 presidential election onFox News. Wallace defended the network's decision to call Arizona for Biden over Trump despite being under tremendous pressure from Trump and his campaign.[74] Later that night, Trump prematurely declared victory in the election, saying: "Frankly, we did win this election," despite there having been too few results received from other states for either Trump or Biden to have won. Trump also stated he wanted "all the voting to stop".[75] Wallace reacted to the President's claim by stating on air: "This is an extremely flammable situation and the president just threw a match into it. He hasn't won these states ... the president doesn't get to say he won states ... there's no question that all these states can continue to count votes."[76][77][78] Wallace further condemned Trump's wanting to halt votes from being counted by saying that it was "extremely irresponsible" and that he didn't think the courts would allow it.[79]
On the December 12, 2021, episode ofFox News Sunday, Wallace announced that it would be his final day hosting the program. It was later announced that Wallace had been hired byCNN to host a new program for its streaming serviceCNN+, which launched in April 2022.[80] Wallace stated the show was inspired byLarry King,Charlie Rose, and his fatherMike Wallace.[81] Wallace had complained to Fox management about its opinion hosts, in particularSean Hannity's andTucker Carlson's increasing emphasis on untruths about theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack and theoutcome of the 2020 presidential election. Wallace was particularly disturbed by Carlson's specialPatriot Purge.[82] He said the work environment at Fox grew "increasingly unsustainable" for him after the 2020 election.[81] In an interview in 2024, he claimed the reason he left Fox was because he had enough of their "lies" and "conspiracies".[83]
Wallace moved toCNN where he served as the host of the interview programWho's Talking to Chris Wallace?. On April 21, 2022,Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN and CNN+, announced they were shutting down CNN+, which occurred on April 28.[84] At their Upfront presentation the following month, it was revealed thatWho's Talking had gone back into production, and would make its new home at CNN andHBO Max.[85] In its first season Wallace interviewed formerSupreme Court JusticeStephen Breyer, actorGeorge Clooney, representativeAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez, comedianBilly Crystal, athleteAlex Rodriguez, musicianMeghan Trainor, chefJosé Andrés, and authorJames Patterson.[86] Other notable interviews throughout the rest of its run were withJames Cameron,Hugh Jackman,Harrison Ford,Matt Damon,Bernie Sanders,Charlamagne tha God,Bill Maher,Larry David, andStephen A. Smith. Following Wallace's departure from CNN,Who's Talking ended on November 15, 2024.
In August 2023, it was announced in a major news programming overhaul that Wallace would host a new CNN Saturday morning program calledThe Chris Wallace Show from 10 to 11 a.m.Eastern Time Zone. He will continue to hostWho's Talking to Chris Wallace?.[87] The program consisted of Wallace and a panel of reporters and commentators discussing the notable political stories of the week. Additional segments included "Yea or Nay", in which panelists gave their approval or disapproval to a new social trend, and "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", in which panelists predicted what the biggest news story would be in the coming weeks. Regular panelists includedLulu Garcia-Navarro,Kara Swisher,Kristin Soltis Anderson, andReihan Salam.[88] The final episode aired on November 23, 2024.
Despite the network pushing for him to stay, Wallace declined to extend his contract with CNN, and departed the network in November, with plans for an independent venture into streaming or podcasting.[89] Puck News claimed that prior to the announcement of his departure, CNN CEOMark Thompson had informed Wallace thatWho's Talking andThe Chris Wallace Show would be cancelled due to low ratings, but that he was welcome to stay on as an analyst on a significantly reduced salary.[90] Wallace denied to Puck that he discussed a future role on CNN, and said that he decided with his wife to leave the network six months before his announcement.
In 2012, Wallace appeared onJeopardy! during "Power Players Week", which featured journalists, politicians, and television personalities as contestants.[91] He competed againstBBC journalistKatty Kay, and television personalityDr. Oz. Wallace won the game with $22,400 to Kay's $8,000 and Oz's $5,900.[citation needed]
In July 2019, Wallace appeared onThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote a documentary about his father,Mike Wallace Is Here.[92]
In December 2019, Wallace stated at theWashington Media Museum: "Trump is engaged in the most direct sustained assault on freedom of the press in our history."[93] He also stated that in his 50-year career in journalism, his highlights include "spending a week withMother Teresa inCalcutta", covering Ronald Reagan across the world for ABC News, and interviewing Vladimir Putin inHelsinki, where he asked, "Why do so many people who oppose you end up dead?"[94]
In addition to being awarded aPeabody Award and being awarded three News & DocumentaryEmmy Awards[3][4] Wallace sits on the Board of Selectors ofJefferson Awards for Public Service.
| Organizations | Year | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Polk Award in Journalism | 1992 | Foreign reporting for his work onABC News'sPrimetime Live | Honored | [95] |
| Columbia University School of Journalism | 1993 | Excellence in Television Journalism Award | Honored | |
| National Press Foundation | 2011 | The Award for Broadcast excellence | Honored | [96] |
| National Press Foundation | 2012 | The Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism | Honored | [97] |
| Radio Television Digital News Association | 2013 | Paul White lifetime achievement award | Honored | [98] |
| American Academy of Achievement | 2014 | The Golden Plate Award | Honored | [99][100] |
| International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) | 2017 | The Founders Award for Excellence in Journalism | Honored | [101] |
| Congressional Medal of Honor Society | 2018 | The "Tex" McCrary Journalism Award | Honored | [102] |
| Culture and Media Institute | 2018 | "The Freedom of Speech Award" | Honored | [103] |
| Poynter Institute | 2020 | Lifetime Achievement in Journalism Medal | Honored | [104] |
| Hollywood Walk of Fame | 2025 | Television Star at 6253 Hollywood Boulevard. | Honored | [105] |
Wallace has said that despite his blood relationship with his father,Mike, his stepfather,Bill Leonard, had far more impact on his life. Wallace said that Leonard was "the single most important person in my life".[106] Wallace first developed a relationship with his father in his teens, after his older brother Peter died in 1962 climbing a mountain inGreece.[107]
Wallace has been married twice. In 1973, he married Elizabeth Farrell, with whom he has four children: Peter (father of William, Caroline, and James),[108] Megan (mother of Sabine and Livia), Catherine, and Andrew (father of Jack and Luke).[109] In 1997, he married Lorraine Smothers (née Martin, born 1959), the former wife ofDick Smothers.[110] Lorraine has two children from her previous marriage: Sarah Smothers and Remick Smothers.[111][112] Lorraine is also an accomplished cookbook author - landing on theNew York Times' Best-Seller List and is best known for her debut cookbookMr. Sunday’s Soups. She later published two follow-up titles,Mr. Sunday’s Saturday Night Chicken andMr. Sunday’s Suppers, which feature collections of family recipes and home-style meals from the Wallace family. Wallace and his wife primarily reside in Annapolis, Maryland.
In 2006,The Washington Post reported that Wallace was registered as aDemocrat in Washington, D.C., and had been so for more than two decades. Wallace said that he did so for pragmatic reasons, in response to the party's preeminence in the city's politics, commenting: "If you want a say in who's going to be the next mayor or councilman, you have to vote in the Democratic primary." He maintained that he had previously voted for candidates from both major parties.[113]
In 2016, Wallace was portrayed byTom Hanks onSaturday Night Live in the Third Presidential Debate Cold Open.[114][115] He was played byBeck Bennett in 2020.
In 2019, Wallace was portrayed byMarc Evan Jackson inJay Roach's filmBombshell.
In June 2020, Wallace published his third book,Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World, withMitch Weiss. The book received positive reviews,[116] spent multiple weeks onThe New York Times Best Seller list,[117] and was included on The Dad Bookshop's list of Ten Best Non-fiction Dad Books of 2020.[118]
In October 2024, Wallace published his fourth book,Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever, again co-written by Weiss.
After retiring Mr. Leonard lived in Washington with his second wife, the former Norma Kaphan Wallace, ex-wife of the "60 Minutes" correspondent, Mike Wallace.
1. I am named Christopher because I was born on the real Christopher Columbus Day, October 12. 2. My mom hated her middle name (Augusta), so she let me choose mine. I went by Christopher Tarzan for a while.
Though his parents were both Jewish, Mr. Wallace — named Christopher because he was born on Columbus Day — attended Episcopalian prep school in a uniform bearing a small cross, startling his Jewish grandmother.
| Media offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Meet the Press moderator 1987–1988 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Fox News Sunday anchor 2003–2021 | Incumbent |
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| Other | |
