American journalist, Fredricka Whitfield has won millions of hearts all over the world with her unique physique and presentation skills. Standing at a towering height of 6 feet 2 inches, Whitfield has become one of the most popular CNN news anchors. Prior to joining CNN, Fredricka was a correspondent for NBC News from 1995 to 2001.
The beautiful American journalist is happily married to John Glenn, a former director of Photography at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. However, before carving a niche for herself in the field of Journalism, Fredricka was mostly known for being the daughter of famous American sportsman, Mal Whitfield.
Fredricka Whitfield’s Bio
Fredricka Whitfield was born on the 31st day of May 1965 in Maryland, United States of America. Fredricka is African-American; her mother hails from Nigeria. For her early education, Fredricka Whitfield attended Paint Branch High School, Burtonsville, Maryland. Afterward, she enrolled at Howard University where she studied and obtained a degree in Journalism in 1987.
Whitfield kicked off her career right from her days in the university. She started as one of the news anchors in her school’s radio station, WHUR. Following her graduation, she went ahead to work for a number of local media organisations across the country including WCIV in Charleston, South Carolina, WPLG-TV in Miami, WTNH in New Haven, Connecticut, KTVT-TV in Dallas, News Channel 8 in Washington D.C, and many others. The experience she got contributed to her rise in the field of Journalism.
In 1995, Fredricka got her first opportunity to work with one of the big leagues, NBC News. There, she worked as a correspondent for the network’s Nightly News. She also served as a news reporter on other programs like The Today Show.
CNN Career
After working at NBC for six years, Fredricka joined CNN in 2002. Despite not being her first major media job, it was at CNN that Whitfield made her name in the histories of TV journalism. At CNN, Fredricka has covered so many major stories including the death of Ronald Reagan. Her works also cover events ranging from war such as Operation Iraq Freedom to natural disasters like the Asian Tsunami which occurred in December 2004.
Being a hardworking and accountable journalist, Fredricka has received more than eight prestigious awards. Meanwhile, it has not been very easy for her since she joined the organisation. But having been through some missteps of her own, she has always been able to pull through all the difficulties.
Fredricka Whitfield’s Husband, Children, and Family Members
Fredricka is one of the three children (two daughters and a son) born to Malvin Greston Whitfield and his wife Nola. Her siblings are Malvin Whitfield Jr. a.k.a Lonnie and Nyna Konishi.
As earlier hinted, Fredricka’s father simply known as Mal Whitfield was a popular athlete – a five-time Olympic Medalist. Mal Whitfield was the 800-meter race champion in the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics. He was also one of the members of the 1948 Gold Medal winning team in the 4×4 (100m) race relay. Mal also served as a U.S. Air Force 2nd Lieutenant in Tuskegee. He died on November 19, 2015, aged 91. On the other hand, Fredricka’s mother, Nola Whitfield worked as a policewoman. Nola is of African-American ethnicity; her mother was Nigerian while her father was American.
In addition to her full siblings, Fredricka has a half brother named Edward “Ed” Wright. Her father had Ed in 1986 from an extramarital affair he had with an American lady Harriet Wright in Kenya while he was away in East Africa working as a U.S aid. Ed is a recognized high jumper.
Talking about Fredricka’s husband, the journalist and television reporter is married to John Glenn. The duo started dating since their college days, and in June 1999 decided to take the relationship to the next level.
From the marriage, Fredricka and John have three children. The couple welcomed their first child, a son named John Glenn Jr. in January 2005. Then in November 2012, Fredricka gave birth to a set of fraternal twins – son James Gilbert and daughter Nola Amanda. The family is living very happily, without controversies, divorce rumors, or other marital issues.
