O'Brien has been celebrated for her reporting acumen, 'incisive' interviews, and the depth of her research. Her journalistic view has been described as being that "if you can tell a story well, you can move people to do something."[13][14]
"My parents were both immigrants—my mother from Cuba, my father from Australia. Both attended daily Mass at the church near campus. Every day my father would offer my mother a ride. Every day, she declined. Finally, she said yes. One year later, the day after Christmas, the two of them were married."[15]
Interracial marriage wasillegal in Maryland before1967, so in 1958 O'Brien's parents married inWashington, D.C., where marriage laws were less restrictive.[17] The newly wedded O'Briens then moved toLong Island, to the town ofSt. James. O'Brien is the fifth of six children, all graduates ofHarvard College.[citation needed] Her siblings are law professor Maria O'Brien[23] (born 1960), GE corporate lawyer Cecilia Vega (born 1961), businessman Tony O'Brien (born 1962), who heads a documents company, eye surgeon Estela Ogiste (born 1964), and anesthesiologist Orestes O'Brien (born 1967).[18][19][24] Her niece is journalistAntonia Hylton.[25]
O'Brien graduated fromSmithtown High School East in 1984.[26] She attendedRadcliffe College from 1984 to 1988, starting as pre-med and English and American literature, but left to take a job atWBZ-TV.[1][27] O'Brien went back to school while pregnant with her first child and earned her degree from Harvard in English and American Literature in 2000.[1][28]
O'Brien began her career as an associate producer and news writer atWBZ-TV, then the NBC affiliate in Boston.[30] She joined NBC News in 1991 and was based in New York as a field producer for theNightly News andWeekend Today. She then worked for three years as a local reporter and bureau chief forSan Francisco's then-NBC affiliateKRON-TV. At KRON she was a reporter on "The Know Zone."[19]
Starting in 1996 and during the dot-com boom, O'Brien anchoredMSNBC's weekend morning show and the cable network's technology programThe Site, which aired weeknights from the spring of 1996 to November 1997. The show was unique in that she interacted with a virtual character namedDev Null, played byLeo Laporte in a motion-capture suit.[19]
O'Brien moved to CNN, where from July 2003 to April 2007, she was co-anchor of theCNN program,American Morning CNN's flagship morning program that aired live fromNew York City.[6][31]
In 2004, at the age of 38, she was named to Crain's New York Business "40 Under 40" list.[32]
From January 2012 to March 2013, O'Brien was anchor of the CNN program,Starting Point. After CNN canceledAmerican Morning and replaced it with two new programs,Early Start andStarting Point in 2011, O'Brien began anchoringStarting Point on January 2, 2012.[33] It was announced on February 21, 2013, that O'Brien had reached an agreement with CNN to leaveStarting Point for the new Starfish Media Group production company. CNN would provide funding in return for non-exclusive rights to its documentaries.[8] March 29, 2013, was her last day on air at CNN as an anchor.[34]
In 2023, O'Brien moderated a discussion with former Nickelodeon child stars that served as the concluding episode ofInvestigation Discovery's (another channel part of Warner Bros. Discovery)Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV regarding abuse with MTV Networks officials.
O'Brien anchored a CNN special,Black in America, in July 2007. The program documented the successes, struggles, and complex issues faced by black men, women and families 40 years after the death ofMartin Luther King Jr. In the first installment, O'Brien investigated howJames Earl Ray, an armed robber and escaped convict, had already spent a year on the run a month before his path collided with that of Dr. King in Memphis, Tennessee. In "The Black Woman & Family", O'Brien explored the varied experiences of black women and families and investigated the disturbing statistics of single parenthood, racial disparities between students, and the devastating toll of HIV/AIDS. The fifth installment of theBlack in America series aired in December 2012.[36] Her report on children and race featured the work ofMargaret Spencer, based on theDoll Tests of the 1940s, polling children on their general color preferences: "white children have an overwhelming white bias, and black children also have a bias toward white, according to a new study.."[37]
O'Brien's Starfish Media Group signed a deal grantingHBO first-look rights for new programs or concepts it develops.[11]
In January 2022, O'Brien and personal financial journalist,Jean Chatzky launched a podcast,Everyday Wealth, covering personal finance, the economy, wealth management, and other financial topics. It is sponsored byEdelman Financial Engines.[38] In fall of 2023, approaching the 60th anniversary of theassassination of President John F. Kennedy, O'Brien collaborated with actor and film directorRob Reiner on a podcast series to cover the controversial topic,Who Killed JFK?.[5][25]
In June 2013, O'Brien formed the production and distribution company Starfish Media Group.[40][41] Starfish Media Group signed a deal to produce a series of hour-long documentary specials forAl Jazeera America.[42]
In September 2016, O'Brien became a host of theHearst Television show,Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien; in addition to its broadcast availability, it is carried byFYI on Sunday mornings (a network Hearst partly owns).[43]
In 2018, O'Brien hosted the documentary seriesMysteries & Scandals onOxygen.[44]
In 2016, O'Brien presented the 'I Am Latino in America' tour, with nationwide stops across the United States. The tour was streamed live globally onMOSH.[46]
In May 2022, Soledad O'Brien partnered with JP Morgan to advise and give a lecture at the company's financial health education, wealth-building, and financial inclusion for Dallas' Black and Hispanic communities. O'Brien took the stage to discuss potential impacts and value of the event and its subsequent activity. As an Adviser to the summit, O'Brien stated she had made it her mission to ensure that the event isn't and won't be lip service without action and outlined plans for future events.[47]
In 1995, O'Brien married Bradford "Brad" Raymond, co-head of investment banking atStifel.[48][49] They have four children: two daughters, Sofia (b. October 2000) and Cecilia (b. March 2002), and twin sons Charles and Jackson (b. August 2004).[50]
O'Brien has said she does not speak Spanish fluently.[1]
O'Brien has been riding horses since she was 13 years old, a hobby which she now enjoys with her family.[3] She and her husband run a foundation called PowHERful Foundation (formerly called the Starfish Foundation, and before that the Soledad O'Brien & Brad Raymond Foundation), which mentors women to send them to college.[49][53] The foundation began in 2011.[54]
O'Brien, Soledad; Arce, Rose Marie (with) (2011).The Next Big Story: My Journey Through the Land of Possibilities. New York: New American Library.ISBN978-0-451-23284-7.OCLC706018286.
