Happy Birthday, Soledad O'Brien

Today is the birthday of Soledad O'Brien. Soledad was born on September 19,1966 in Saint James, Long Island, New York.

She was christened Maria de la Soledad O'Brien. Her first name follows a Spanish tradition of naming a child for Our Lady of Solitude.

Her parents are a biracial couple. They met at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and married in 1959 when an interracial marriage was still illegal in some places, including Maryland.

Her father, Edward, was a mechanical engineering professor and was originally from Toowoomba, Australia.

Her mother, Estella, is black of Cuban heritage. She emigrated to the U.S. in the 1950's and was a teacher in New York City.

Soledad was raised in Smithtown, a small North Shore town on Long Island, New York. She attended Smithtown High School East and went on to graduate from Harvard.

Bio info from http://soledadobrien.info