Zoraida Sambolin | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1965-07-10)July 10, 1965 (age 60) |
| Occupation | Television journalist |
| Employer | WMAQ (NBC) |
| Spouse | Kenny Williams (2014-) |
Zoraida Senoba Sambolin (born July 10, 1965) is an American television journalist.
Sambolin is ofPuerto Rican descent.[1][2][3][4] Most recently,[5] Sambolin was the host ofEarly Start onCNN. Sambolin is a native ofChicago and anchored news broadcasts for local affiliatesWMAQ-TV (NBC) as well asWSNS-TV for nine years.
In January 2013, it was announced that Sambolin was engaged to baseball executiveKenny Williams.[6]In May 2013, Sambolin announced that she had breast cancer and got a doublemastectomy on May 28, 2013. She stated that she "struggled for weeks" to find the best way to make this information public, and ended up doing so while discussingAngelina Jolie'sNew York TimesOpEd piece describing her own double mastectomy.[7]
Sambolin created and hostedSmall Talk for Parents onPBS stationWYCC-TV and hostedNuestros Niños onTelemundo affiliateWSNS-TV from 1999 to 2002.[8]
She joined Chicago NBC affiliateWMAQ-TV as a freelance weekend news anchor in 2002.[9] She then joined WSNS-TV the following year as a reporter and anchor, making her the first Chicago on-air broadcaster to work at both English and Spanish-language stations simultaneously.[8] At WSNS, she launched the weekly health and family seriesNuestra Familia.[8] In 2007, she was promoted to weekday anchor ofNBC 5 News Today at 4:30 am, which she hosted alongside Rob Elgas.[9] The program was a pioneer in early morning newscasts which later set a trend in Chicago and other major markets across the United States.[10]
Sambolin hostedUn Buen Doctor, a weekly medical series focusing on health issues affecting Latinos airing on cable stations internationally.[9]
Sambolin left WMAQ in November 2011 to co-anchor CNN's morning programEarly Start alongsideAshleigh Banfield.[11] On December 13, 2013 Sambolin signed off from Early Start stating the primary reason was for her children and to be closer to family in the Chicago area.
On April 23, 2014 it was announced that Sambolin would be rejoining WMAQ as co-anchor of NBC 5 news Today and will co-anchor alongside Stefan Holt. She began May 22, and left in October, 2021.
Sambolin has a son, Nicholas Hobbs [12], who is a member of the University of Iowa Basketball team. Nicholas is a pre-business major.
12.https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/hawkeyesports.com/documents/2018/10/8/BBFACTBOOK_MG.pdfArchived 2019-09-06 at theWayback Machine
[1]Archived 2019-09-06 at theWayback Machine