Easton is a California native. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of California, Berkeley.

In November 2004, Easton married Russell Schriefer, a political strategist, media consultant, and a former advisor to John McCain. She has two children from her previous marriage, to political journalist Ronald Brownstein, Taylor and Daniel. She and Schriefer have a daughter together, Elizabeth Rose.

Sheena Easton, a distant cousin, is a well-known recording artist.

Nina Easton started her career in journalism in various business journals such as The American Banker, BusinessWeek, and Legal Times.

In 1988, Easton joined the Los Angeles Times as a staff writer, and contributed to its Sunday Magazine. Her articles won numerous awards, including the National Headliners Award for best magazine writing and the Sunday Magazine Editors Award for investigative reporting. Fortune Press Center

In 1991, Easton was chosen as a delegate to the British-American Project, a joint venture between the Royal Institute of International Affairs and Johns Hopkins University SAIS that brings together young leaders from the United States and the United Kingdom. She subsequently served on the project's executive committee and co-chaired its 1995 conference in Windsor, England.

In 1998, Easton left the Los Angeles Times, and joined The Boston Globe. At the Globe, Easton served as a lead editor of the 2003 newspaper series on John Kerry, and oversaw much of the paper's 2004 presidential campaign coverage. The New York Times > Fashion & Style > Weddings & Celebrations > Nina Easton, Russell Schriefer

In May 2006, Easton left the Boston Globe, to take over as the Washington Bureau Chief of Fortune Magazine.

She has also appeared as a commentator on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, CBS's Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer, CNN's NewsNight, NBC's Meet the Press with David Gregory, and PBS's Washington Week, among others. FOXNews.com - 'Special Report' Panel Discusses Ted Kennedy, Clinton's Kentucky Win and McCain and Obama on U.S. Policy Towards Cuba - Brit Hume | Special Report