Vicky Ward
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Victoria Penelope Jane Ward (born 3 July 1969) is a British-born American author, investigative journalist, editor-at-large, and television commentator. She was a Senior Reporter 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 ...
and a former magazine and newspaper editor who has featured in ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list.


Early life and education

Vicky Ward was born Victoria Penelope Jane Ward on 3 July 1969 in
Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...
, Essex. She is the daughter of Simon Charles Ward, a retired London financier, and Jillian Ward (), a graduate of
Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
. She has two younger sisters, Antonia Ward and Lucinda Ward.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage: 107th Edition volume 1, page 1360 Ward attended
Benenden School Benenden School is a private boarding school for girls in Kent, England, in Hemsted Park at Benenden, between Cranbrook and Tenterden. Benenden has a boarding population of over 550 girls aged 11 to 18, as well as a limited number of day s ...
from 1983 to 1987 and later earned a BA and MA in English literature from
Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...
, during 1988–1991.


Career

Prior to moving to the U.S. in 1997, Ward was a columnist and feature writer for ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', a British newspaper. In New York City, she was the features and news features editor of the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' (1999–2001) and
Tina Brown Christina Hambley Brown, Lady Evans (born in England on 21 November 1953), is a journalist, magazine editor, columnist, broadcaster, and author, with dual British/United States citizenship. She is the former editor in chief of '' Tatler'' (197 ...
's executive editor at '' Talk'' (2000–2001). Ward worked as a contributing editor to '' Vanity Fair'' (2001–2012) as well as a columnist for the London ''
Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...
'' (2007–2011). Her ''Vanity Fair'' articles covered a wide array of subject matter: politics, finance, art, and culture and society. Among other things, she wrote about
Hewlett Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, Californi ...
,
Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...
,
Bruce Wasserstein Bruce Jay Wasserstein (December 25, 1947 – October 14, 2009) was an American investment banker, businessman, and writer. He was prominent in the mergers and acquisitions industry, credited with working on 1,000 transactions with a total value ...
, a failed coup in Africa,
Kate Middleton Catherine, Princess of Wales (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982), is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne. Born in Reading, Catherine grew u ...
,
Valerie Plame Valerie Elise Plame (born August 13, 1963) is an American writer, spy, novelist, and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. As the subject of the 2003 Plame affair, also known as the CIA leak scandal, Plame's identity as a CIA offic ...
, counter-terrorist czar Dick Clarke, Brooke Astor, Veronica Hearst, the Guggenheim, the Getty, Phillips de Pury Luxembourg, St. Barths, Vivendi,
Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( , ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American financier and child sex offender. Born and raised in New York City, Epstein began his professional career as a teacher at the Dalton School, despite lacking a col ...
, Washington interns, the Fairfield Greenwich hedge fund and
Bernie Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American financial criminal and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest known Ponzi scheme in history, worth an estimated $65 billion. He was at one time ...
. From July 2017 to July 2019, Ward served as editor-at-large for ''
HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'' and ''Huffington Post Highline'', their long-form magazine. ''HuffPost'' exclusives written by Ward included interviews with Blackwater's
Erik Prince Erik Dean Prince (born June 6, 1969) is an American businessman, investor, author, and former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and the founder of the private military company Blackwater. He served as Blackwater's CEO until 2009 and as its chairman u ...
, Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, and Anthony Scaramucci on the White House and why he was fired. For ''The Huffington Post Highline'', Ward wrote articles about Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
's Chief of Staff, Nick Ayers and
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
and
Rebekah Mercer Rebekah Mercer (born December 6, 1973) is an American heiress and Republican political donor, and director of the Mercer Family Foundation. Mercer began overseeing day-to-day operations of political projects for the Mercer family when the M ...
's influence in the 2016 election.
Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show ''Charlie Rose (talk show), Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg L.P., Bloombe ...
later interviewed her on this piece. In July 2019, Ward was named Senior Reporter 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 ...
. For CNN, her reporting included pieces on the rise of the Jeffrey Epstein mystique, the scrutiny of Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale's business ties, and a look at Donald Trump's ongoing fight to keep his tax returns private. Ward is also editor-at-large at ''Town & Country'' magazine, where she writes about culture. Her pieces have included an article on the late, seminal Russian art collector
Sergei Shchukin Sergei Ivanovich Shchukin (; 10 January 1936) was a Russian businessman who became an art collector, mainly of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. Early life and family Sergei Ivanovich Shchukin was born on in Moscow, one of ten c ...
,
Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry ( ; ; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become attractions. Gehry rose to prominence in th ...
's first-ever sailboat design, and a $2 billion fraud in the modern art world including the Knoedler art trial. In 2016, Ward wrote investigative long-form articles for ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' including a profile of the Russian-born cyber-terrorism expert Dmitri Alperovitch, and a piece on senior presidential aide
Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He is a son-in-law of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, through his marriage to Ivanka Trump and served as a senior advisor in his father-in- ...
, about whom she later, in 2019, wrote a book. Ward has contributed to, among others, the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', the London ''Times'', ''Sunday Times'', ''
Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...
'', the UK ''
Spectator ''Spectator'' or ''The Spectator'' may refer to: *Spectator sport, a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches *Audience Publications Canada * '' The Hamilton Spectator'', a Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, ...
'' magazine, ''British Vogue'', US ''
Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...
'' and ''Porter''. She has also had on-air contracts with CNBC and Bloomberg TV. She appears regularly on MSNBC's ''Morning Joe''. Ward is the author of three books: the ''New York Times'' bestseller ''The Devil's Casino'' in 2010, ''The Liar's Ball'' in 2014, and the ''New York Times'' bestseller '' Kushner, Inc.: Greed. Ambition. Corruption.'' in 2019. Centering on the story of real estate developer Harry Macklowe, ''The Liar's Ball'' was reported to be in development as a feature film by J.C. Chandor and A24 Productions. Ward appeared in the 2017 documentary film ''Blurred Lines: Inside the Art World''. In 2019, Ward said her 2003 profile of Jeffrey Epstein in ''Vanity Fair'' had included on-the-record accounts of Annie and
Maria Farmer Maria K. Farmer (born 1969 or 1970) is an American visual artist known for providing the first criminal complaint to law enforcement, to the New York City Police Department and to the FBI, in 1996 about the conduct of financier and convicted sex ...
(who filed the earliest known criminal complaints about Epstein), but that they were later stricken from Ward's article after Epstein pressured the magazine's editor
Graydon Carter Edward Graydon Carter, Order of Canada, CM (born July 14, 1949) is a Canadian journalist who was the editor of ''Vanity Fair (magazine), Vanity Fair'' from 1992 until 2017. He also co-founded, with Kurt Andersen and Thomas L. Phillips, Jr., Tom P ...
. While researching Epstein, Ward was pregnant with twins and reported that she felt compelled to hire security protection for their
neonatal intensive care unit A neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), also known as an intensive care nursery (ICN), is an intensive care unit (ICU) specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants. The NICU is divided into several areas, including a critical c ...
after Epstein had threatened their wellbeing. In June 2020, she joined the
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
. She is the host and producer of ''Chasing Ghislaine'', which was released July 15, 2021 as an Audible Original podcast (and hit #5 on Audible's Weekly Bestsellers List) and as a docuseries premiering on discovery+ on November 22, 2021 and ID on December 3, 2021. On November 29, 2021, she launched the newsletter ''Vicky Ward Investigates''. She is the host and co-producer of the Audible Original podcast ''Pipeline to Power: The 40-Year Plan to Capture the Supreme Court''. In September 2023, she was appointed as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford. Her most recent book about the 2022 killing of four University of Idaho students, ''The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy'' (Little, Brown and Company), co-authored with the best-selling novelist
James Patterson James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the '' Alex Cross'', '' Michael Bennett'', '' Women's Murder Club'', '' Maximum Ride'', '' Daniel X'', '' NYPD Red'', '' Witch & Wizard'', '' Private'' and ...
, will be published July 14, 2025.


Bibliography

* 2010 ''The Devil's Casino: Friendship, Betrayal and the High Stakes Games Played Inside Lehman Brothers'', Wiley, * 2014 ''The Liar's Ball: The Extraordinary Saga of How one Building Broke the World's Toughest Tycoons'', Wiley, * 2019 '' Kushner, Inc.: Greed. Ambition. Corruption. The Extraordinary Story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump'',
St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...
, New York,


Personal life

Ward met Matthew Doull in the 1990s when both were working at ''The Daily Telegraph''. They have two children together, twins Orlando and Lorcán, born in early 2003. Ward and Doull later divorced. Ward has lived in New York City since 1997, and is a
naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
U.S. citizen as of 2017. A portrait of Ward, taken by photographer Jason Bell, was exhibited in the British
National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...
in 2011 as part of Bell's series "An Englishman in New York". The series, including the portrait of Ward, was also published as a book by the same title.


References


Further reading

* Ward, Vicky
"The Talented Mr. Epstein"
''Vanity Fair'', 2003 * Ward, Vicky
"I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003"
''The Daily Beast'', 2015 * Ward, Vicky
"Jeffrey Epstein's Sick Story Played Out for Years in Plain Sight"
''The Daily Beast'', 2019 *Ward, Vick


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Vicky 1969 births 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American women journalists 20th-century American women writers 20th-century English journalists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge American women non-fiction writers British investigative journalists CNN people English emigrants to the United States English women journalists Living people Naturalized citizens of the United States People from Chelmsford Vanity Fair (magazine) people Writers from Essex