Liz Wickersham is an American television personality best known as the host of
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
's entertainment
newsmagazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...
'' Showbiz Today'' and host of WTBS's Award-Winning Magazine Program, ''Good News''.
Miss Georgia USA
Wickersham, who grew up in
Orange, Texas
Orange is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. The population was 19,324 at the 2020 census. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houston. ...
, moved to
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
after attending the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
and won the title of
Miss Georgia USA
The Miss Georgia USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Georgia in the Miss USA pageant. This pageant is directed Greenwood Productions under the ownership of Miss Tennessee USA 1989 Kim Greenwood and i ...
, going on to compete in the 1976
Miss USA
Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020. ...
pageant, where she was selected as Miss Photogenic and ultimately became one of the Top 12 semifinalists. Following this, she briefly worked for Democratic Congressman Charlie Wilson in Washington, D.C. Her father was both a major Democratic contributor and the seller of the second-hand Lincoln automobiles that Wilson preferred. She later appeared as the cover model for the April 1981 issue of ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' magazine.
CNN
Shortly thereafter,
Ted Turner
Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...
offered her an on-air position with the fledgling network, CNN. Her broadcasting profile soon rose considerably after being selected in to interview Cuban President
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
at the presidential palace in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.syndication's successful ''
Entertainment Tonight
''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...
'') which featured entertainment industry news. She also served as the host of WTBS's Sunday-morning magazine program "Good News", produced by the husband-and-wife TV writing team of Bonnie and Terry Turner.
Personal life
Wickersham was married for 27 years to Paul Dudley Derounian, Manhattan Attorney and Vietnam War Veteran, who died suddenly and peacefully in his sleep on Sunday July 27, 2014, at his summer home in Westhampton, NY.