Leslie Ann Sykes (born June 27, 1965) is an American television news anchor, journalist and reporter. Sykes is the morning and midday co-anchor of the "Eyewitness News" at

KABC-TV KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network. ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's owned and operated television station in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Early life

Leslie Ann Sykes was born in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

to Abel Baxton Sykes, Jr. (June 1, 1934 - December 19, 2012) and Sylvia Mae Thierry Sykes. She has two older sisters; Dawn Carol Sykes and Daphne Grace Sykes. She grew up in Compton, California, where her father worked as an administrator for

Compton Community College Compton College is a public community college in Compton, California. From 2006, when it lost its regional accreditation, to 2017, when it regained that accreditation, it operated as a part of El Camino College. Before and after the partnership ...

. Sykes attended St. Joseph High School (Lakewood, California) and then went to

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman rece ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

where she majored and has a degree in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. While there, she made her film debut as "Miss Mission" in Spike Lee's 1988 film, '' School Daze''.

Career

Upon graduation, Sykes began her professional career as a journalist. One of her first jobs was as a general assignment reporter at the now defunct '' Los Angeles Herald-Examiner''. An internship followed at local independent television station (now My Network TV affiliate)

KCOP-TV KCOP-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox outlet KTTV (channel 11). Both station ...

. This led to a desk assistant position in the news department at Fox affiliate

KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV ou ...

. Her big break came when she landed her first on-air job in Hattiesburg, Mississippi at

WDAM-TV WDAM-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Laurel, Mississippi, United States, serving the Hattiesburg area as an affiliate of NBC and ABC. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on US ...

. Not only did she serve as a reporter, she anchored three shows a day and produced a newscast. From there she received her first major market assignment at

WVUE-TV WVUE-DT (channel 8) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains primary studios on Norman C. Francis Parkway in the city's Gert Town secti ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. In December 1994, Sykes returned to Los Angeles as a general assignment reporter for KABC-TV's "Eyewitness News" program. In late 1998, Sykes was approached by

WBBM-TV WBBM-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. Owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, the station maintains studios on West Washington Str ...

in Chicago to become its new top female weekend anchor, replacing Sarah Lucero. However, a December 3, 1998 article in the Chicago Sun-Times reported that She had opted "to stay put in L.A." In June 1999, Sykes was promoted to co-anchor the weekend edition of the "Eyewitness News". In 2009, she was promoted again to co-anchor of the 11am-Noon slot and then joined the team on "Eyewitness News This Morning" as well.

Personal life

Sykes is married to Patrick W. Spann. They have a son and currently live in the

View Park-Windsor Hills A view is a sight or prospect or the ability to see or be seen from a particular place. View, views or Views may also refer to: Common meanings * View (Buddhism), a charged interpretation of experience which intensely shapes and affects thou ...

neighborhood of

References

External links

Leslie Sykes' bio on KABC-TV website
1965 births Living people African-American television personalities American television journalists African-American women journalists African-American journalists African-American writers American women television journalists Spelman College alumni People from Compton, California Television anchors from Los Angeles Television anchors from New Orleans People from San Diego Journalists from California People from View Park–Windsor Hills, California {{US-journalist-1960s-stub