2014-09-19

Soledad O'Brien Celebrates 48th Birthday



Birthdate: September 19, 1966
Birthplace: Saint James, New York
Mother: Estella, a Black Cubana (Afro-Cuban), was a French and English teacher.
Father: Edward, an Australian (from Toowoomba, Australia) of Irish descent, was a mechanical engineering professor.

Soledad's parents, both immigrants, met at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland in 1958 and married in 1959. Interracial marriage was illegal in Maryland then, so the couple was married in Washington, D.C.

Her full name is Maria de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien. From Spanish, her first name would translate as, "The Blessed Virgin Mary of Solitude." When she started working in TV, many people recommended that she change her name, but she refused.

Soledad attended Smithville High School in New York and has a BA from Harvard University. Soledad is the fifth of six children, all of whom graduated from Harvard University

O’Brien served as an anchor and special correspondent for CNN starting in 2003 and was the co-anchor of CNN’s flagship morning program, “American Morning,” and then the anchor of “Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien.”

After leaving CNN to start her own production company, Starfish Media Group, Soledad O'Brien joined Al Jazeera America in 2013. She contributes short-form segments as Special Correspondent to Al Jazeera America’s primetime current affairs magazine program America Tonight and Starfish will produce hour-long documentary specials. Soledad also reports for HBO's Real Sports program.

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