Ann Curry (born November 19, 1956) is an American television news journalist and news anchor on NBC's morning television program Today since May 1997 and host of Dateline NBC since May 2005. Along with Lester Holt, she is the primary substitute for Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News.
Curry is a Board Member at the IWMF (International Women's Media Foundation).
Curry was born in Guam to Bob Curry, of French, German, Irish, Scottish descent from Pueblo, Colorado, and Hiroe Nagase, originally from Japan. Her American father, a career Navy man, met her mother during the U.S. occupation of Japan following the Second World War. The U.S. military did not initially allow the marriage, but her father returned to Japan two years later to marry his bride.
Curry lived as a child for several years in Japan, attending the Ernest J. King School on the military base in Sasebo, later moving to Ashland, Oregon, where she graduated from Ashland High School. In 1978, she graduated with a BA in Journalism from the University of Oregon.
Ann is married to software executive Brian Ross whom she met in college. They have a daughter, McKenzie, and a son, Walker. The family lives in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of New York City.
Curry began her broadcasting career in 1978 as an intern at then, NBC-affiliate, now CBS-affiliate KTVL in Medford, Oregon. There she rose to become the station's first female news reporter. In 1980, Curry moved to NBC-affiliate KGW in Portland, where she was a reporter and anchor.
Four years later, Curry moved to Los Angeles as a reporter for KCBS-TV and received two Emmy Awards while working as a reporter from 1984 to 1990.
In 1990, Curry joined NBC News, first as the NBC News Chicago correspondent then as the anchor of NBC News at Sunrise from 1991 to 1996. During this time, she also served as a substitute anchor and news anchor for the NBC news shows Today and Weekend Today. In May 2005, Curry was named co-anchor of Dateline NBC with Stone Phillips; she remained as the primary anchor when Phillips left in June 2007. She also continues as news anchor at Today, and is the show's second-longest serving news anchor, behind Frank Blair, who served in that capacity from 1953 to 1975. Since September 2007 Curry has been one of the three anchors for TODAY's third hour. She is also a substitute anchor for NBC Nightly News.
Curry has been known at NBC News for anchoring three of the four major broadcasts. She has read the news on The Today Show since 1997, she has anchored Dateline NBC since 2005, and has been the primary substitute on NBC Nightly News since 2007 after Lester Holt took over weekend editions (Holt had previously been the primary substitute but left that position to become weekend anchor, giving Curry the position). There have even been days when Curry has anchored all three broadcasts in one day. A segment on Today, Ann on the Run, follows Curry around a day where she must read the news on Today, tape Dateline, and fill in live for Brian Williams on Nightly News.
Curry is known for her international reporting of major stories, filing stories from places such as Baghdad, Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Albania, and Darfur. Curry hosted NBC's primetime coverage and highlights of the Live Earth concerts on July 7, 2007 and also contributed with interviews for the special with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Al Gore. Curry reported from the USS Theodore Roosevelt during the invasion of Afghanistan in November 2001, and had an exclusive interview with General Tommy Franks. She reported from Baghdad in early 2003, and then from the USS Constellation as the war in Iraq began. Ann was also the first network news anchor to report from inside the Southeast Asian tsunami zone in late 2004.
On December 17, 2007, Curry bungee jumped off the world famous Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough, England to raise money for charity. Her jump was shown live on the Today show at about 8:13 am. During a February 4, 2008, appearance as a guest on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, asked if she would ever bungee jump again, Curry said she would if O'Brien would jump with her.
Ann received an honorary degree from Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island on May 16, 2010. She received an honorary doctorate from the Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts on May 22, 2010. There she delivered the graduation keynote address. However, she gaffed as she cited several famous alumni, only one of which graduated from that college. The others graduated from the Wheaton College near Chicago. Curry apologized for the gaffe.
Ann also appeared as an Agent in ImprovEverywhere's 'I Love Lunch! The Musical' http://improveverywhere.com/2009/11/05/i-love-lunch-the-musical/
Emmy Awards, presented for coverage of the 1987 Los Angeles earthquake; another presented for reporting on the explosion of a San Bernardino gas pipeline, and a third in 2007 for her reporting on NBC Nightly News about the Darfur crisis
Golden Mic (4), presented by Radio & Television News Association of Southern California (RTNA)
Certificate of Excellence, Associated Press
Gracie, presented by The Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television
Excellence in Reporting, presented by the NAACP
National Journalism Award, presented by the Asian American Journalists Association, 2003
Pioneer Award, presented by University of Oregon, 2003
Hall of Achievement induction, University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, 2002
Sexiest Newscaster, as voted on by readers of Ask Men magazine
Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service, presented by PNC Bank for outstanding achievements in mass communications, 2008
Honorary Doctorate in Journalism from Southern Oregon University on 6/5/2010 after giving the commencement address
