Loutelious "T. J." Holmes, Jr. (born August 19, 1977) is an American journalist and national television personality. Holmes first gained national prominence as an anchor and correspondent for

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

. He spent five years at the network anchoring

''Saturday & Sunday Morning.'' Holmes left

at the end of 2011 after signing a multi-platform talent deal with

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

Networks, which included the new show ''Don't Sleep''. BET and Holmes parted ways in 2013 upon the program's cancellation. In December 2012, Holmes became a substitute weekend anchor on

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

. He also appeared on

as a fill-in correspondent and anchor during this same period. In September 2014, Holmes joined

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

as a correspondent and anchor.

Early life

Holmes was born in

West Memphis West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 26,245 at the 2010 census, ranking it as the state's 18th largest city, behind Bella Vista. It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area, and is ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

and is the younger of two children. His family gave him the nickname "T. Jr." He only began using the name "T. J." when he started his professional television career. Holmes attended the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

where he earned a degree in broadcast journalism.

Career

Holmes started his television career at

KSNF KSNF, virtual channel 16 (UHF digital channel 17), is an NBC- affiliated television station licensed to Joplin, Missouri, United States, and also serving Pittsburg, Kansas. The station is owned by Irving, Texas–based Nexstar Media Group, which ...

Channel 16 in Joplin,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. He drove to Joplin from the

campus to hand-deliver his resume and reel. He was hired on the spot. Holmes spent less than a year at KSNF as a producer, assignment reporter, and weekend anchor. Holmes moved back to his home state of

in 2000 to join CBS affiliate

KTHV KTHV (channel 11) is a television station in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, affiliated with CBS. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios on South Izard Street in downtown Little Rock and a transmitter atop Shinall Moun ...

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

as a general assignment reporter. Within a year, he was promoted to weekend anchor. In 2003, Holmes moved on to KNTV, the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

O&O station in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

, to become anchor of the 5 p.m. evening news. While at KNTV, he traveled to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

to cover the 2004 Olympics, the first Summer Games held after the

September 11th attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. While at KNTV, he covered numerous other stories that garnered national attention, including the historic recall election of California Gov. Gray Davis that resulted in the election of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; and, the double murder trial of

Scott Peterson Scott Lee Peterson (born October 24, 1972) is an American convicted murderer. In 2004, he was convicted of the first-degree murder of his wife, Laci, who was pregnant at the time, and the second-degree murder of their unborn son, Conner, in Mod ...

CNN

Holmes joined

as a news anchor and correspondent in October 2006. He co-anchored CNN ''Saturday & Sunday Morning'' with

Betty Nguyen Betty Nguyen (born September 1, 1974) is an American news anchor, who is currently at WPIX in New York City. Nguyen has previously worked for NBC News, MSNBC, CBS News, and CNN. Career Nguyen began her career as a morning anchor and reporter ...

until March 2010 when Nguyen left for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. Holmes then anchored the newscast solo. At CNN, Holmes reported from the scene of numerous breaking news events, including Joplin, MO, which was devastated by multiple tornadoes in May 2011,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

during the

Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considere ...

in 2010; and, Blacksburg, VA immediately after the shootings on the campus of

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

. Holmes also anchored from

Ground Zero In relation to nuclear explosions and other large bombs, ground zero (also called surface zero) is the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation. In the case of an explosion above the ground, ''ground zero'' is the point on the groun ...

on the 10th anniversary of the

. Holmes covered the historic first papal visit to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

in 2008, including anchoring live from the mass at Yankee Stadium. Holmes secured some of the first stories from the survivors of the

US Airways Flight 1549 US Airways Flight 1549 was a regularly scheduled US Airways flight from New York City (LaGuardia Airport), to Charlotte and Seattle, in the United States. On January 15, 2009, the Airbus A320 serving the flight struck a flock of birds short ...

that crash landed in the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

in January 2009. Holmes also reported from the campus of the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

during the first presidential debate between Sens. John McCain and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

. Holmes also anchored significant news stories, including Saddam Hussein's execution in 2006, the terrorist attacks in

Mumbai, India Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

in 2008, and the terrorist attacks at the

Glasgow Airport gd, Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Ghlaschu , image = Glasgow Airport logo.svg , image-width = 200 , image2 = GlasgowAirportFromAir.jpg , image2-width = 250 , IATA = GLA , ICAO = EGPF , type = Public , owner = AGS Airports , hub = *eas ...

in 2007. Holmes contributed to CNN's 2010 coverage of the

and 2008 coverage of the presidential primary campaigns, both of which garnered Peabody Awards. Holmes' last day on CNN was Christmas Day 2011.

BET

In December 2011, Holmes and

announced he had signed a multi-platform deal with

Networks. In a statement,

revealed: "The deal with Holmes includes a new show on

, as well as content on BET.com in which he can bring his many talents to what the company regards as "the most important and interesting stories" for the

audience. "We are simply ecstatic to have T.J. Holmes coming to our fold. He's been an outstanding news anchor and we look forward to working with him in a variety of new ways on

," said Stephen G. Hill, President of Music Programming and Specials at

Networks. "It's now upon us to develop vehicles that capture his intelligence, curiosity about the world, warmth, humor and compassion. It's a challenge that we are happy to have." In August 2012,

Networks announced that Holmes will be the host of their new original series ''Don't Sleep'', which will premiere October 1, 2012 from 11 p.m.-11:30 p.m. ET /PT. Airing Monday through Thursday, Holmes will deliver smart, biting social commentary on significant issues important to the black community. After much speculation in March 2013, BET announced they had cancelled ''Don't Sleep'' and that Holmes had left the network.

MSNBC

Since December 29, 2012, Holmes has appeared on

on several occasions as a substitute anchor. He has appeared on '' Weekends with Alex Witt'' and ''

NewsNation with Tamron Hall ''NewsNation with Tamron Hall'' was an American weekday talk-news program that was broadcast on MSNBC between 2010 and 2017. It launched on October 11, 2010. Tamron Hall anchors the hour broadcast from New York. The show concentrated on high-prof ...

''.

Return to CNN

Starting on June 24, 2013, Holmes made a brief return to the Turner family of networks when he anchored coverage of the

George Zimmerman George Michael Zimmerman (born October 5, 1983) is an American man who fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black boy, in Sanford, Florida, on February 26, 2012. On July 13, 2013, he was acquitted of second-degree murder in '' Flori ...

trial.

ABC News

T. J. Holmes joined the ABC News Team on September 26, 2014, on a freelance/temporary basis, substituting on the overnight news program ''

World News Now ''World News Now'' (or WNN) is an American overnight news broadcast seen on ABC. Airing during the early morning hours each Monday through Friday, the program features a mix of general news and off-beat stories, along with weather forecasts, ...

'' and ''

America This Morning ''America This Morning'' is an American early morning news program, broadcast on ABC on weekday mornings. The newscast is anchored by Andrew Dymburt and Rhiannon Ally, who also serve as anchors of ABC's overnight news program ''World News Now''. ...

'', and filing reports for '' Good Morning America'' when news broke overnight, such that as it did on the day of his hiring; a career milestone that was made publicly official the next day by the '' GMA Weekend'' hosts. Like other WNN anchors, Holmes substituted on GMA as needed. On December 23, 2014, he was made the permanent co-anchor of ''World News Now''. On September 21, 2020, Holmes joined '' GMA3: What You Need to Know'' as co-anchor. On December 5, 2022, Holmes, along with his ''GMA3'' co-host

Amy Robach Amy Joanne Robach (born February 6, 1973) is an American television reporter for ABC News. She is the co-anchor of ''20/20'' and the breaking news anchor/fill-in anchor for '' Good Morning America''. She was a national correspondent for NBC N ...

, were taken off the air following the public disclosure of a romantic relationship between the two.

Personal life

Holmes is a member of the 100 Black Men of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and the

National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an organization of African-American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C., by 44 journalists, the NABJ's stated purpose is to provide quality p ...

. He is also on the Chancellor's Board of Advisors at the

and the Board of Visitors at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

. Holmes received the Young Alumni Award from th
Arkansas Alumni Association
at the

in 2007. In 2011, he was named to

The Root "The Root" is a song by American recording artist D'Angelo. It is the eighth track on his second studio album, ''Voodoo'', which was released on January 25, 2000, by Virgin Records. "The Root" was recorded and produced by D'Angelo at New York's ...

100 List of Most Influential Black Americans. Holmes was married to Amy Ferson; the two divorced in 2007. They have two children, daughter Brianna and son Jaiden. He then married Atlanta-area attorney, Marilee Fiebig on March 1, 2010, in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. Their daughter, Sabine, was born in January 2013.http://gospelconnoisseur.com/wordpress/see-photos-of-news-man-tj-holmes-daughter/#more-54162 1st Photos Of Sabine Holmes The couple separated in August 2022, before his relationship with his ''GMA3'' co-host Amy Robach was revealed.

References

External links

T. J. Holmes/BET announcement
at BET.com
A March 2007 T.J. Holmes Interview
with My Urban Report {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, T.J. 1977 births Living people African-American journalists Journalists from Mississippi People from West Memphis, Arkansas Television anchors from San Francisco University of Arkansas alumni CNN people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people