Lisa Thomas-Laury facts for kids

Lisa Thomas-Laury is a well-known retired news presenter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. For many years, she helped deliver the news to people in the United States. From 1983 to 2003, she was a main anchor for the 5 p.m. news show on WPVI-TV.

Lisa Thomas-Laury's Career in News

Lisa Thomas-Laury began her career at WPVI-TV in Philadelphia on February 20, 1978. She started as a co-anchor for the noon news and also worked as a reporter. She even got this job over Oprah Winfrey!

In 1983, Lisa was promoted to co-anchor the 5 p.m. newscast. She worked alongside Marc Howard until 2003. She also often filled in for Jim Gardner on the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. news shows.

Lisa also hosted a monthly show called Fast Forward. This program was made especially for teenagers. She also took over a local show called Visions, which is now known as New Visions. This show focuses on African-American topics.

Lisa Thomas-Laury is one of the few African American women to be a news anchor in Philadelphia. Other notable anchors include Tamala Edwards from WPVI, Renee Chenault-Fattah formerly from WCAU, Natasha Brown from KYW, and Joyce Evans from WTXF.

Lisa's Health Journey and Medical Leave

In 2002, Lisa Thomas-Laury started having health problems. Her feet would tingle, and she first thought it was from too much walking. Doctors initially had trouble figuring out what was wrong.

Finally, at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, she received the correct diagnosis. Lisa was suffering from POEMS Syndrome. This is a rare condition that can cause nerve damage and other issues.

She took a medical leave from Action News for almost a year. She returned to work on September 11, 2003. Lisa was supposed to host the annual Thanksgiving Day parade, which she had missed in 2002. However, her health problems returned, and she had to miss the parade again. She went back on medical leave.

In May 2004, Jim Gardner announced that Lisa would be stepping down from her main anchor duties. This was so she could focus more on getting better. However, the station made it clear that she was always welcome back when her health allowed.

Returning to the Airwaves

On November 22, 2006, Lisa Thomas-Laury made a special appearance on WPVI's 11:00 p.m. newscast. She announced that she would be returning to the station very soon!

The very next day, November 23, 2006, she appeared during Philadelphia's annual Thanksgiving Day parade. This was the parade she used to co-host.

Lisa officially returned to Action News on January 2, 2007. Her first report was about Oprah Winfrey's school for girls in South Africa. After that, Lisa often filed reports for the noon, 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11 p.m. newscasts. She also filled in as an anchor when needed.

Lisa Thomas-Laury retired on Wednesday, May 25, 2016. She had a long and successful 38-year career at the station. In 2009, the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia honored her by adding her to their Hall of Fame.

In 2017, she wrote a book about her life called On Camera and Off, When the News is Good and When it's Not. She spent much of that year traveling to promote her book.