Anjali Rao (born 8 April 1974) is an Australian global television news anchor and broadcast journalist. She starred on season 5 of '' The Real Housewives of Melbourne''. Rao has spent over 25 years in television journalism, as an anchor and correspondent for

CNN International Cable News Network International or CNN International (CNNi, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel and website, owned by CNN Worldwide. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates ...

, Sky News UK, Channel 5 UK as well as hosting ''The Project'' and ''

Studio 10 ''Studio 10'' was an Australian morning talk show on Network 10 which aired from 4 November 2013 to 22 December 2023. Its final hosts were Angela Bishop, Narelda Jacobs and Tristan MacManus. It aired between 10am and noon on weekdays and a hi ...

'' on Australia's

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

and for several years on SBS One public affairs program '' Dateline.'' She has also been host of the nightly news, current affairs and entertainment programme, ''The Anj, Rob and Robbo Show''.

Early life

Born in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, Anjali Rao was educated mainly in England at

Cobham Hall School Cobham Hall School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day and boarding school in the English parish of Cobham, Kent, for girls only in Years 7 to 11 and co-educational in the Sixth Form . It is a Round Square (educational organis ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, and

King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's oldest public school and is considered to be the oldest continuously op ...

, followed by the

City University, London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

, where she earned a bachelor's degree with Honours in Sociology and Media Studies. Her father was an Indian doctor, Dr Prithvi Raj Rao, from Bangalore, although born in Burma. He died suddenly at the age of 55, when she was almost five years old. Her mother, Cynthia Lockeyear, is from

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

, Victoria, Australia, and now lives in the UK.

Career

Prior to joining CNN, Rao worked as a producer and reporter at

's Wharf Cable Television and at the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. She went on to the principal news anchor role at Star TV where she won the top prize at the 2004

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Human Rights Press Awards. In 2009, she was named Best Current Affairs Presenter at the Asian Television Awards while anchoring at

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 ...

. Anjali has also been the recipient of a number of other prestigious awards, including a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

. Rao is best known in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

as a presenter for

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...

and Channel 5 news. Rao was an anchor for

, from January 2006 until her resignation in August 2012. She presented CNN's breakfast show live to the world from the television network's

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

news headquarters in

. She also fronted CNN's flagship celebrity chat show ''

TalkAsia ''TalkAsia'' is a weekly half-hour interview show on CNN International, produced from the network's Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong. Each month, the show features a candid and in-depth conversation between a CNN correspondent and a newsm ...

'', interviewing household names such as U.S President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld also called Kaiser Karl (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, photographer, and creative director. Lagerfeld began his career in fashion in the 1950s, working for several top fashion hous ...

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. Known for Kevin Spacey on screen and stage, his work on stage and screen, he List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Spacey, has received numerous accolades, including two ...

Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow ( ; born September 27, 1972) is an American actress and businesswoman. The daughter of filmmaker Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, she established herself as a leading lady appearing in mainly mid-budget and perio ...

, and

Roger Federer Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...

among many others. Rao was featured on season 5 of '' The Real Housewives of Melbourne''. On 21 November 2021, Rao quit the series. On 30 November 2022, it was announced that Rao was cast on '' Australian Survivor: Heroes V Villains'', being placed on the Villains tribe.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Anjali 1974 births Living people Alumni of City, University of London Hong Kong women journalists Australian people of Indian descent Hong Kong people of Indian descent Australian women television presenters Australian women television journalists Hong Kong people of Australian descent CNN people People educated at Cobham Hall School Participants in Australian reality television series