Lola Ogunnaike (born September 13, 1975) is an American entertainment journalist. A former entertainment writer for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

,'' Ogunnaike has since worked as a freelance media reporter and the host of ''Couch Surfing,'' a celebrity interview web series produced by ''People.''

Early life and education

Lola was born in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n parents. She graduated from J.E.B. Stuart High School in Fairfax, Virginia. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

and a Master of Fine Arts in journalism from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

Career

Ogunnaike commenced her career in journalism in 1999 covering entertainment news and pop culture. She then became an entertainment reporter for ''

'', focusing on celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Ozwald Boateng, Oprah Winfrey and writing Sting for the paper's "Arts and Leisure" section. Ogunnaike was a writer for ''Vibe'', contributing to the monthly music features and cover stories. Her work has also been published in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', ''New York'', ''Glamour'', ''Details'', ''Nylon'', ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...

'', and ''V''. She also accompanied and interviewed Michelle Obama on a tour to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. Ogunnaike later worked as a features reporter at the '' New York Daily News'', where she covered breaking news on celebrities and entertainment for "NOW," the paper's entertainment section, and for the Rush and Molloy column She was a former correspondent on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

’s '' American Morning'', where she worked from 2007 to 2009. Ogunnaike has appeared as a guest on

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

, MTV, VH1, and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''Today''. She was listed in May 2007 as ''Ebony''’s ‘150 Most Influential Blacks in America”. She is currently a host of Arise Entertainment 360.

Personal life

She is married to Deen Solebo, a business manager at Elektron Petroleum Energy & Mining. They have one son.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogunnaike, Lola Living people 1975 births American people of Nigerian descent American people of Yoruba descent American television reporters and correspondents Nigerian journalists Yoruba women journalists Yoruba journalists Journalists from New York City New York University alumni University of Virginia alumni CNN people Nigerian women journalists American women television journalists Yoruba women television personalities 21st-century American women