Kiran Carrie Chetry (, , born August 26, 1974) is a

Nepalese American Nepalese Americans are Americans of Nepalese ancestry. Immigration from Nepal to the United States began in the 20th century, and many have been able to establish themselves as American nationals. The history of immigration from Nepal to Amer ...

former television broadcast journalist who, until 2011, was a

cable news Cable news channels are television networks devoted to television news broadcasts, with the name deriving from the proliferation of such networks during the 1980s with the advent of cable television. In the United States, the first nationwide ca ...

anchor for

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 '' American Morning''. From 2001 to 2007 she reported—and then anchored—cable news at

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

Early life and education

Kiran was born in Patan Hospital (Shanta Bhawan), Patan,

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. Seven months later, she moved with her parents and family to the United States. Her surname, Chetry, refers to the traditional

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

of rulers and soldiers among

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

in the Middle Hills of Nepal, and Kiran's father Hom Chetry belongs to this community. Kiran's mother Nancy is of German, Ukrainian, and Dutch ancestry.Nepal Monitor: "Q&A: Kiran Chetry: On Career Transition, Nepal and Journalism"
July 2007 Her parents met while Nancy was a

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

Volunteer in Nepal. Kiran grew up in

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ) is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the third-largest incorporated city and the ninth-most populous communit ...

and attended Montgomery Blair High School in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

, where she served in student government, danced on the pom squad, and competed on the swim team. Upon graduation she enrolled at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

's College of Journalism, where she joined the Alpha Pi chapter of

Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta (), also known as Tri Delta, is an international collegiate Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity. It was founded on November 27, 1888 at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. History File:S ...

sorority and received her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

Career

Chetry began her career in 1995 at News 21 in

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...

. The next year she moved to WICU-TV in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

, where she was the main

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anch ...

and health

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. (She met her future husband Chris Knowles there who was the prime-time news anchor.) She received the Best Enterprise Reporting award from the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Associated Press Broadcasters Association in 1997 for her series "Young and Hooked," which looked at teen

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...

. In 1999, Chetry moved from WICU-TV to

KXTV KXTV (channel 10) is a television station in Sacramento, California, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Broadway, just south of US 50 at the south edge of downtown Sacramento, and its tr ...

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

to work as a morning anchor and reporter.

Fox News

In 2001, Chetry joined

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...

as a general reporter, first appearing on March 8, 2001, in a story about eating

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

. The following year, in 2002, she was awarded the Making our Mark (MOM) Award from the Association of Nepalis in the Americas. At Fox News, she worked as a rotating anchor for '' Fox News Live'' and the early morning news program '' Fox & Friends First''. In late 2005, she became a regular co-host on the network's weekend morning news program, ''Fox & Friends Weekend''. In 2006, Chetry made ''Maxim'' magazine's top-ten list of TV's sexiest news anchors, placing third on the list: she was ranked as America's sexiest female anchor and the world's second-sexiest female anchor. In early 2007, as Chetry's contract with Fox News neared the end of its term, the network negotiated with Chetry's agent to renew her contract. Her contract was expected to be renewed with her continuing to co-host ''Fox & Friends Weekend''. However, talks ended when

claimed in a February 15, 2007, letter to Chetry's agent, that Chetry had demanded "that Fox News include a clause in her new agreement that would have been detrimental to other Fox News Talent." The cable news network added that it would not renew her contract and that she was free to leave before her contract's expiration. Chetry exercised that option. Chetry allegedly wanted a clause in her contract that would have had Gretchen Carlson, a co-anchor of ''Fox & Friends'', fired.Chetry wanted colleague Gretchen Carlson fired
, ''Mediabistro'', February 16, 2007 Chetry's agent countered that the allegation of Chetry's wanting Carlson fired was "absolutely false".Fox News anchor out in contract drama.
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', February 17, 2007 Another source said that the clause in question merely requested a written clarification of whether Chetry would become a ''Fox & Friends'' co-host and, if so, when. If that were not to happen by a certain date, then Chetry would have a window to exit her new contract.Tug of War Between TV News Rivals
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', February 19, 2007

CNN

hired Chetry following her release from Fox News.Official Press Release of Chetry's Hire at CNN
,

, February 16, 2007 On February 16, 2007, Chetry began work as a

anchor and correspondent. That day, she served as a co-host on ''American Morning'' in the morning and, after being hired by CNN, anchored '' Anderson Cooper 360'' that evening. She went on to substitute as an anchor for ''

Paula Zahn Paula Ann Zahn (; born February 24, 1956) is an American journalist and newscaster who has been an anchor at ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, and CNN. She currently produces and hosts the true crime documentary series '' On the Case with Paula Zahn' ...

Now'' and ''CNN Newsroom''. On April 4, 2007, CNN's President Jonathan Klein announced Chetry as the new co-anchor of ''American Morning'', beginning on April 16, 2007. Her last day on ''American Morning'' and at CNN was July 29, 2011. In August 2014, she co-anchored with

Errol Barnett Errol Barnett (born 3 April 1983) is a broadcaster on American television. He is an anchor and national correspondent for CBS News based in New York City. He anchors the ''CBS Morning News'' solo''.'' Previously he covered the Trump administra ...

a few late-night telecasts 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 ...

Infomercials

She is an infomercial presenter for Nutribullet.

Personal life

Chetry was married to Chris Knowles, a former

and weekend weathercaster at WPIX-TV; they divorced in 2013 and have two children, a son and a daughter. Chetry is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

References

External links

*
Q&A: Kiran Chetry: On Career Transition, Nepal and Journalism
, ''Nepal Monitor'', July 8, 2007

Carpe Diem {{DEFAULTSORT:Chetry, Kiran 1974 births Living people 21st-century American women American people of Nepalese descent American women journalists of Asian descent American women television journalists Christians from Maryland CNN people Fox News people Journalists from Maryland Nepalese emigrants to the United States Nepalese people of German descent Nepalese people of Ukrainian descent Nepalese people of Dutch descent People from Lalitpur District, Nepal Television anchors from Sacramento, California University of Maryland, College Park alumni