Renee Chenault-Fattah (born October 12, 1957) is an American journalist and former co-anchor of the WCAU NBC 10 News at 4 and 6 p.m. on weeknights in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. She is married to former U.S. Congressman

Chaka Fattah Chaka Fattah (born Arthur Davenport; November 21, 1956) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House for from 1995 to 2016. The district included portions of North Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, and West P ...

of the 2nd Congressional District of Pennsylvania.

Biography

Early life and education

Chenault-Fattah majored in political science at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

, and went on to earn her J.D. at the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and oldes ...

. She worked at

Hughes Hubbard & Reed Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP ( a.k.a. "Hughes Hubbard" or "HHR") is a multinational law firm headquartered in New York City with offices in the United States, France, and Japan. The firm's history dates back to the late 19th century, when it co ...

, a law firm in New York, and then clerked for Judge

Damon Keith Damon Jerome Keith (July 4, 1922 – April 28, 2019) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern Distr ...

of the

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of K ...

. She then began her media career, earning a master's degree in journalism at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

in Columbia, Missouri.

Career

She joined WCAU, then the Philadelphia CBS TV affiliate, in September 1991, and served as an anchor and a reporter. After a few years anchoring the noon broadcast with Tim Lake, Chenault-Fattah was promoted to the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. news in March 1995. By then, WCAU had become the NBC affiliate in Philadelphia. In 2003, Lake joined Chenault as co-anchor at 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11 p.m., after she had spent 8 years co-anchoring newscasts at 6 and 11, first wit
Ken Matz
and then with

Larry Mendte Lawrence David Mendte (born January 16, 1957) is an American news anchor, commentator and radio talk show host. Mendte is currently hosting three TV shows, ''Jersey Matters'', ''The Delaware Way'', and ''Another Thing with Larry Mendte''. Mend ...

. The criminal case involving her husband, Chaka Fattah, made it increasingly difficult for Chenault-Fattah to continue as an anchor, and she went on leave for seven months following his indictment. Ultimately, she left the station on February 24, 2016. Although she was mentioned in a business dealing of her husband's, Chenault-Fattah was never charged with anything in connection with the activities that ultimately led to his conviction. Chenault-Fattah serves on the board of trustees of Johns Hopkins University. Chenault-Fattah serves on the board of directors of Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity, a non-profit dedicated to assisting low-income Philadelphians in overcoming hurdles caused by past criminal records.

Honors and awards

Chenault-Fattah was named to the

PoliticsPA PoliticsPA.com is a website centered on the politics of Pennsylvania. Content The website reports on political and campaign news in Pennsylvania, from the state legislature up to federal races. The editors write occasional features, like the we ...

list of "Sy Snyder's Power 50" list of influential individuals in Pennsylvania politics in 2002. She was also named to the

list of "Pennsylvania's Most Politically Powerful Women" The

Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is a state-chartered, federally recognized, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, devoted to collecting information about and promoting cultural work related to broadcasting and communications in Philadelphia, Pe ...

inducted Chenault-Fattah into their Hall of Fame in 2009.

Personal life

Chenault-Fattah is the third wife of Pennsylvania politician

, and they have a daughter together named Chandler Fattah. Two and a half years prior to marrying Fattah, Chenault-Fattah had a daughter named Cameron Chenault through

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...

. She is stepmother to Frances ("Fran") Fattah, and Chaka Fattah Jr., known as "Chip" (31 years old in March 2015). "Fattah's daughter, Frances, a second-year law student, was maid of honor; his son, Chaka "Chip" Jr., a college freshman, was best man. The bride's daughter, -year-old Cameron Chenault, balked at walking down the aisle with the other five flower girls, so she had to be carried by her grandfather, Arthur Chenault."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chenault-Fattah, Renee 1957 births Living people Television anchors from Philadelphia Philadelphia television reporters American television journalists American women television journalists African-American television personalities Spouses of Pennsylvania politicians University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni University of Missouri alumni 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women