"It's hard to go around the world and see these very difficult and tragic circumstances. But I think it's something I must do ... I think news now has a special responsibility to tell Americans what's going on in the world, and to equip them with information that helps their understanding, and maybe even their security."
Christiane Amanpour
Some women are revered for shattering the glass ceiling. Christiane Amanpour never saw one.
I say this because in a world of Peter Jennings and Dan Rathers, she was never fazed by the clearly male-dominated world of broadcast journalism that was the American norm in her childhood. As CNN's chief international correspondent, the highest position in journalism to ever be held by a female, her most recent assignments have sent her to Iran, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Haiti, Algeria and Rwanda. Her work is diverse, assignments have ranged from an exclusive interview with Iranian President Mohammed Khatami to covering the civil unrest and political crisis in Rwanda. As a result, she has received wide acclaim for her extensive reports on the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Move over, Katie Couric: Amanpour plays hardball with the boys, cutting out the fluff and Velveeta and instead covering the hard news. Clad in a bullet proof vest and often covered in dust from the war zone, Christiane does not shy away from the usual work hazards.
Christiane attended the University of Rhode Island (major in journalism, summa cum laude ), rooming with John F. Kennedy Jr. whom she cites as a "major influence in her career." Christiane was first hired by CNN in 1983, working in the Atlanta international desk as a correspondent. However, Christiane's career began to pick up in late 1989 and early 1990 when she covered the changing events in Europe and the Middle East. During her assignment in the Persian Gulfshe covered the Gulf War, from Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 to the U.S. bombing of Baghdad and the Kurdish refugee crisis on the Iran/Iraq border that persisted after the cease-fire. She also covered the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 and subsequent war in Tbilisi. In December 1992, Amanpour briefly left the former Yugoslavia to report live from the shores of Mogadishu, Somalia, as U.S. troops launched Operation: Restore Hope. For her Gulf War reporting Christiane won the Breakthrough Award from the Women, Men and Media organization. Christiane herself is stationed in CNN's London headquarters, sometimes working in New York of Frankfurt.
Besides being lauded by feminist groups for her charisma, candor, and elegance that suit intelligence and not shallowness; Christiane has won many awards, her most recent being named as part of The Society of Professional Journalists. For her reporting from Yugoslavia, she won a News and Documentary Emmy Award,two George Foster Peabody Awards, a George Polk Award, a Courage in Journalism Award, a Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival Gold Award and the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. She also was named 1994 Woman of the Year by the New York Chapter of Women in Cable and Telecommunications, and she helped the network win a duPont Award for its coverage of Bosnia and a Golden CableACE for its Gulf War coverage. .
Christiane was on assignment in Africa during the September 11 attacks, but did manage to score an interview with Pakistani President General Perevez Musharaff, giving CNN a prime advantage in the WTC media coverage.
Christiane is very private about her personal life, but does reveal that she is married and has an eighteen year old son, Darius John Rubin.