George Stephanopoulos facts for kids

Quick facts for kids George Stephanopoulos
Stephanopoulos in May 2013
Senior Advisor to the President
In office June 7, 1993 – December 10, 1996
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Rahm Emanuel
Succeeded by	Sidney Blumenthal
White House Communications Director
In office January 20, 1993 – June 7, 1993
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Margaret D. Tutwiler
Succeeded by	Mark Gearan
Personal details
Born	George Robert Stephanopoulos (1961-02-10) February 10, 1961 (age 63) Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Ali Wentworth ​ (m. 2001)​
Children	2
Education	Columbia University (BA) Balliol College, Oxford (MA)

George Robert Stephanopoulos (born February 10, 1961) is an American television host, political commentator, and former Democratic advisor. Stephanopoulos currently is a coanchor with Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan on Good Morning America, and host of This Week, ABC's Sunday morning current events news program.

Before his career as a journalist, Stephanopoulos was an advisor to the Democratic Party. He rose to early prominence as a communications director for the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton and subsequently became White House communications director. He was later senior advisor for policy and strategy, before departing in December 1996.

Early life and education

George Stephanopoulos was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, the son of Nickolitsa "Nikki" Gloria (née Chafos) and Robert George Stephanopoulos. His parents are of Greek descent. His father is a Greek Orthodox priest and dean emeritus of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York City. His father is a retired priest at Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox church in Cleveland Heights, OH. His mother was the director of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America National News Service for many years.

Stephanopoulos speaking at Virginia Tech in March 2006

Following some time in Purchase, New York, Stephanopoulos moved to the eastern suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, where he graduated in 1978 from Orange High School in Pepper Pike.

In 1982, Stephanopoulos received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science summa cum laude from Columbia University in New York and was the salutatorian of his class. While at Columbia, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa his junior year and was awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship. He was also a sports broadcaster for 89.9 WKCR-FM, the university's radio station. As a student, he lived in Carman Hall and East Campus.

Promising his father that he would attend law school eventually, George took a job in Washington, D.C., as an aide to Democratic Congressman Ed Feighan of Ohio. He became Feighan's chief of staff.

Stephanopoulos attended Balliol College at the University of Oxford in England, as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a Master of Arts in Theology in 1984.

Political career

Early work

Stephanopoulos worked in Washington, D.C., as an aide to Democratic Congressman Ed Feighan of Ohio. His job included drafting letters, memos, and speeches. His salary was reportedly $14,500 a year. He later became Feighan's chief of staff.

In 1988, Stephanopoulos worked on the Michael Dukakis U.S. presidential campaign. He has noted that one of his attractions to this campaign was that Dukakis was a Greek-American liberal from Massachusetts. After this campaign, Stephanopoulos became an executive floor assistant to Dick Gephardt, U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader; he held this position until he joined the Clinton campaign.

Clinton administration

Stephanopoulos and President Bill Clinton prepare for the State of the Union Address in 1994

Stephanopoulos was, along with David Wilhelm and James Carville, a leading member of Clinton's 1992 U.S. presidential campaign. His role on the campaign is portrayed in the documentary film The War Room (1993).

In the Clinton administration, Stephanopoulos served as a senior advisor for policy and strategy. His initiatives focused on crime legislation, affirmative action, and health care. At the outset of Clinton's presidency, Stephanopoulos also served as the de facto press secretary, briefing the press even though Dee Dee Myers was officially the White House Press Secretary. Stephanopoulos was regarded as a member of Bill Clinton's inner circle.

Stephanopoulos resigned from the Clinton administration shortly after Clinton was re-elected in 1996.

His memoir, All Too Human: A Political Education (1999), was published after he left the White House during Clinton's second term. It quickly became a number-one bestseller on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Journalism

After leaving the White House at the end of Clinton's first term, Stephanopoulos became a political analyst for ABC News, and served as a correspondent on This Week, ABC's Sunday morning public affairs program; World News Tonight, the evening news broadcast; Good Morning America, the morning news program; along with other various special broadcasts.

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talk with George Stephanopoulos in December 2009 in Washington, D.C.

In September 2002, Stephanopoulos became host of This Week, and ABC News officially named him "Chief Washington Correspondent" in December 2005. The program's title added the new host's name.

During the 2008 presidential election campaign, Stephanopoulos launched a blog George's Bottom Line on the ABC News website. Stephanopoulos blogged about political news and analysis from Washington.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen is interviewed by Good Morning America's Stephanopoulos.

Stephanopoulos interviews President Joe Biden in 2021

In December 2009, ABC News president David Westin offered Stephanopoulos Diane Sawyer's job on Good Morning America after Sawyer was named anchor of World News. Stephanopoulos accepted the new position and began co-anchoring GMA on December 14, 2009. Stephanopoulos announced on January 10, 2010, that that would be his last broadcast as the permanent host of This Week. However, after his successor, Christiane Amanpour, left the show amid sagging ratings, it was announced that Stephanopoulos would return as host of This Week in December 2011.

Following Diane Sawyer's departure from World News at the end of August 2014, Stephanopoulos was the Chief Anchor at ABC News from 2014 to 2020 while retaining his roles on GMA and This Week. Stephanopoulos leads a new documentary unit for Disney's digital platforms and hosts four primetime hour-long specials on the ABC network annually.

Personal life

Stephanopoulos is a Greek Orthodox Christian and has earned a master's degree in theology.

Stephanopoulos married Ali Wentworth, an actress, comedian, and writer, in 2001 at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on New York's Upper East Side. They have two daughters, one born in 2002 and one born in 2005.

Honors

In May 2007, Stephanopoulos received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from St. John's University in New York City.

See also

In Spanish: George Stephanopoulos para niños