Michaela Pereira (born August 26, 1970) is a Canadian television personality best known as being a former anchor for

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and for the

KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned a ...

FOX11 Los Angeles morning show, ''Good Day LA''. She announced on March 28, 2013, that she would be leaving KTLA in May to be a part of the CNN morning show '' New Day'' that debuted on June 17, 2013. In 2016 Pereira left CNN for the HLN cable television network, where on July 11, 2016, she debuted as anchor of the Los Angeles-based news program ''MichaeLA''. In October 2018 HLN announced that Pereira and the hosts of two other HLN live news shows would be let go by the network; the final broadcasts for ''MichaeLA'' and the other two shows took place on October 26, 2018. It was announced in September 2020 that Pereira would join KTTV in October of that year. She announced on August 25, 2022, that she would be leaving Good Day LA; her last day was September 9.

Education

Pereira was educated at Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School, a public high school in the

Cariboo The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia, Canada, centered on a plateau stretching from Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the Caribou (North America), caribou that were once abundant in the reg ...

town of 100 Mile House,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, from which she graduated in 1988, followed by Camosun College and the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

, also in British Columbia.

Life and career

Pereira began her career at CHEK-TV in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, as host of a magazine show and documentary special. She also reported on weather, sports and entertainment. She later co-hosted '' Internet Tonight'' on

ZDTV TechTV was an American cable television channel with a focus on technology. It was launched as ZDTV on May 11, 1998, by computer magazine publisher Ziff-Davis following two short-lived technology-based programs by the company. Initially target ...

with Scott Herriott, a daily look at Internet news and informative, interesting, and funny

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

s. After ''Internet Tonights cancellation in 2001, Pereira became a regular host for '' TechLive'', serving in that position until 2004, when she signed on to

in Los Angeles. She hosted her last episode of ''TechLive'' on February 6, 2004, after which TechTV began the process of merging with G4 in the next month, leading to its demise. In 1999, she was one of many personalities who temporarily co-reviewed films with film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

on his television program in place of

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...

. She was a finalist to replace Siskel, but lost the position to

Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television s ...

. In one installment of the series, she discussed how her tastes leaned toward the mainstream and his toward the

arthouse An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

environment, and also reported on the increasing use of the Internet to market major films. On January 1, 2007, Pereira co-hosted coverage of the ''

Tournament of Roses Parade A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

'' with former

game show host A game show host is an individual who manages a game show, introduces contestants, and asks quiz questions to test the knowledge of said contestants. They may also have other duties pertinent to production. History In 1938, Freddie Grisewood w ...

Bob Eubanks, replacing Stephanie Edwards. Pereira co-hosted the parade coverage with Eubanks again in 2008. On March 28, 2013, it was announced that Pereira would be leaving KTLA to become a host of a new morning show 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 ...

. She returned to Los Angeles in 2016 to anchor the live news program ''MichaeLA'' on HLN. In October 2018, HLN announced that Pereira's employment with the network was ending, along with that of Ashleigh Banfield and Carol Costello, based on the network's decision to scale back its live news programming. The final broadcast of Pereira's show (as well as the shows hosted by Banfield and Costello) took place on October 26, 2018. Pereira launched her new career at KTTV (channel 11) starting October 2020. Pereira served as the co-host of ''KTLA Morning News'', Los Angeles' number one rated morning newscast, for nine years. The program won nine Emmy Awards, including one for "Best Regularly Scheduled Daily News". Pereira won three Radio & TV News Association Golden Mike Awards: in 2006 for live coverage of a news story, "Urban Farm Eviction," and the Best Daytime News Broadcast in both 2004 and 2006. She was also honored with two Mark Twain Awards in 2004 for "Best Live Coverage of a News Event, Hostage Standoff Mexican Consulate," and the "Best 60 Minute Broadcast: KTLA Morning News." She is chairwoman of the board of LA's BEST Friends, an after school education, enrichment and recreation program. She served as a member of the board of directors for the Long Beach Boys and Girls Club; an advisory board member of

Court Appointed Special Advocates Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is a national association in the United States that supports and promotes court-appointed advocates for abused or neglected children. CASA are volunteers from the community who complete training that ha ...

(CASA), supporting children in foster care; an advisory board member of EmpowerTech, serving people with disabilities; and co-chair of the advisory board of Optimist Youth Home, providing services for troubled youth. Pereira is a member of the

National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and professional organization of African Americans, African American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 197 ...

, the Black Journalists Association of Southern California, and American Women in Radio and Television. She is also active with the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

(NAACP).

Personal life

Pereira was adopted. Her parents and siblings do not share the same ethnic backgrounds, which has subsequently led her to be a strong advocate for the rights of children. Though she's lived and worked in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for several years she still maintains her Canadian citizenship. She speaks Portuguese, in addition to English, and was an avid snowboarder until a 2010 knee surgery.

References

External links

CNN Programs - Anchors/Reporters - Michaela PereiraKTLA On-Air Talent Bios
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Twitter (@Michaela)

Facebook (michaelapereira5)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pereira, Michaela 1970 births Black Canadian broadcasters Living people Canadian adoptees Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian television hosts Television anchors from Los Angeles CNN people People from Saskatoon Women sports commentators Canadian infotainers TechTV people American women television journalists Black Canadian women American women television hosts Canadian women television hosts Canadian women television journalists 21st-century American women Camosun College alumni Canadian people of Portuguese descent Black Canadian journalists