Brianna Keilar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brianna Keilar
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Keilar in 2023
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| Born |
Brianna Marie Keilar
September 21, 1980 Canberra, Australia
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| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of California, Berkeley (BA) |
| Spouse(s) |
Dave French
(m. 2009; div. 2011)Fernando Lujan
(m. 2016) |
| Children | 1 |
Brianna Marie Keilar (born September 21, 1980) is a well-known American journalist. She is currently a co-anchor for the afternoon show CNN News Central. Before this, she worked for CNN in Washington, D.C., covering important news from the White House and United States Congress. She also reported on general news stories.
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Early Life and School
Brianna Keilar was born in Canberra, Australia. Her father is Australian, and her mother was American. Her family moved to the United States in 1982. They settled in Orange County, California.
She went to Mission Viejo High School and graduated in 1998. After high school, Brianna attended the University of California, Berkeley. She earned two degrees in 2001: one in mass communications and another in psychology.
Journalism Career
Brianna Keilar started her career in journalism in Yakima, Washington. She worked at a TV station called KIMA and also co-hosted a morning radio show. Later, she moved to CBS News. There, she was an anchor, reporter, and producer. She even filled in as an anchor for the overnight news.
Joining CNN
After CBS, Keilar joined CNN. She worked as a correspondent for CNN Newsource. This meant she reported breaking news from Washington, D.C., for many local TV stations that partner with CNN.
As a general reporter for CNN, she covered many big events. For example, she was the first CNN reporter to arrive at the scene of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting.
Awards and Recognition
Brianna Keilar has won awards for her reporting. In 2009, she received the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award. This was for her excellent reporting on the $700 billion bank bailout in 2008. This bailout was a government plan to help banks during a financial crisis.
In 2014, she won the Aldo Beckman Memorial Award. She earned this for her coverage of the rollout of Obamacare. This was a major healthcare law introduced by President Obama.
Focus on Military Families
Since 2019, Keilar has written a column called Home Front. In this column, she shares stories about military families. Her goal is to help people understand the lives of those connected to the military. This is important to her because her husband is in the military.
Current Role at CNN
In 2021, Keilar became a co-anchor on the show New Day. She worked there until the show changed in late 2022.
In April 2023, Brianna Keilar started a new role. She became a co-anchor for CNN News Central. She hosts the afternoon edition of the show, which airs from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Personal Life
Brianna Keilar married Dave French in 2009, but they later divorced. In 2016, she got engaged to Fernando Lujan. He is an active duty Green Beret and worked at the White House. They got married on December 30, 2016, in Las Vegas. Brianna and Fernando have one son, who was born in June 2018.
