Lester Don Holt Jr. (born March 8, 1959) is an American journalist and news anchor for the weekday edition of ''

NBC Nightly News ''NBC Nightly News'' (titled as ''NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt'' for its weeknight broadcasts since June 22, 2015) is the flagship daily evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NB ...

'' and ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' is a weekly American television news magazine/reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasion ...

''. On June 18, 2015, Holt was made the permanent anchor of ''NBC Nightly News'' following the demotion of

Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American retired journalist and television news anchor. He was a reporter for ''NBC Nightly News'' starting in 1993, before his promotion to anchor and managing editor of the broadcast in 2004. ...

. Holt followed in the career footsteps of

Max Robinson Maxie Cleveland "Max" Robinson, Jr. (May 1, 1939 – December 20, 1988) was an American broadcast journalist, most notably serving as co-anchor on ''ABC World News Tonight'' alongside Frank Reynolds and Peter Jennings from 1978 until 1983. Robi ...

, an

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 ...

evening co-anchor, and Holt became the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

to solo anchor a weekday network nightly newscast. According to a 2018 poll, Holt was ranked as being the most trusted TV news anchor in America. Holt was also known for his moderation of the first presidential debate of 2016 and was praised by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' columnists for his role in fact-checking false statements. While ''NBC Nightly News'' was the top-ranked evening news program for over 30 years during the

Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...

and Brian Williams eras, ratings dropped to second place after Holt began as anchor.

Early life and education

Holt was born on March 8, 1959, on

Hamilton Air Force Base Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

, California, the youngest child of four of June (DeRozario) and Lester Don Holt Sr. His maternal grandparents were born in Jamaica. His maternal grandfather Canute DeRozario was an

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The ''Oxford English ...

and was one of 14 children of an

Indo-Jamaican Indo-Jamaicans are the descendants of people who came from the Indian subcontinent to Jamaica. Indians form the third largest ethnic group in Jamaica after Africans and Multiracials. History Due to deteriorating socioeconomic of conditions in B ...

father from

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, India, and a

White Jamaican White Jamaicans also known as European-Jamaicans are Jamaican people whose ancestry lies within the continent of Europe, most notably Great Britain and Ireland. There are also communities of people who are descendants of people who arrived from ...

mother from England.Today Show: "Lester and Jenna trace their Jamaican roots"
Aired on September 9, 2012 His maternal grandmother, May, was born in Jamaica but raised in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, where his mother was born. His father was

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

from

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, with roots in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. He graduated from Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova in 1977 and majored in government at

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

, though he never graduated. In 2012, Holt told ''American Profile'' news magazine: "My first on-air job was actually as a disc jockey at a Country and Western station. The only time I could land a full-time gig was if I was willing to report the news." Holt would keep the job with the radio station through his college years.

Career

Holt spent 19 years with

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 ...

, as a reporter, anchor, and international correspondent. 2005_Lester_Holt_on_Weekend_Today

In 1981, he was hired as a reporter for

WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station WL ...

in New York City. In 1982, he became a reporter and weekend anchor on KNXT in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and the next year he returned because to WCBS-TV as a reporter and weekend anchor. In 1986, Holt moved to

WBBM-TV WBBM-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. Owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, the station maintains studios on West Washington Stre ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he spent 14 years anchoring the evening news. Holt not only worked at the anchor desk but also reported extensively from troubled spots around the world, including Iraq, Northern Ireland, Somalia, El Salvador and Haiti. Holt joined

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 political ...

in 2000. In 2003, he assumed full-time duties at

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

, where he became a substitute anchor for ''NBC Nightly News'' and ''Today''. Holt became a full-time co-anchor of ''

Weekend Today ''Weekend Today'' is currently the branding of the weekend editions of ''Today'', an American morning news and talk program that airs daily on NBC. Weekend editions of ''Today'', began with the launch of the Sunday edition of the program on Sep ...

'' following the death of previous co-anchor

David Bloom David Jerome Bloom (May 22, 1963 – April 6, 2003) was an American television journalist (co-anchor of ''Weekend Today'' and reporter) until his sudden death in 2003 after a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) became a pulmonary embolism. Early an ...

. Until late 2005, he also anchored a two-hour daily newscast on MSNBC. On May 9, 2007, Holt was named anchor of the weekend edition of ''NBC Nightly News'', anchoring the show for eight years before replacing Brian Williams as permanent anchor of the weekday edition. Additionally, Holt is the current host for NBC's Dateline. He moderated a presidential debate in 2016, and interviewed President Donald Trump in 2017, where fellow journalists said that he asked tough but appropriate questions. 2010 Lester Holt during airdrop mission by US Air Force

2010 Lester Holt during airdrop mission by US Air Force

In addition to his primary responsibilities at NBC News, he hosted a special for

The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

about the

9/11 conspiracy theories 9/11 conspiracy theory, conspiracy theories attribute the preparation and execution of the September 11 attacks against the United States to parties other than, or in addition to, al-Qaeda. These include the theory that high-level government ...

, served as a sportsdesk reporter for

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

coverage of the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, and is the host of ''Dateline on ID,'' an edition of ''

'' shown on the

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...

network. In 2008, he narrated a documentary regarding actual crystal skulls on the

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...

. When

took medical leave in 2013 for knee replacement surgery, Holt filled in as weekday anchor. In 2015, Williams was suspended for reportedly exaggerating a story about the Iraq War, and Holt permanently replaced him as ''NBC Nightly News'' anchor. Dr Holly Bamford talks with Lester Holt from NBC Nightly News

Dr Holly Bamford talks with Lester Holt from NBC Nightly News

Holt moderated the Democratic presidential candidates' debate in January 2016, alongside a panel of NBC political reporters, as well as the first presidential debate on September 26, 2016. Presidential candidate

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

said that this was "a very unfair system" because "Lester is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

". Holt was at the time a registered

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. However in 2018, he changed his party affiliation to independent. After the debate, Donald Trump said that Holt did "a good job." Journalists also said that Holt performed admirably; for example he challenged Trump when Trump said that he originally opposed the war in Iraq, which was proven to be a false statement. ''The Washington Post'' said "Kudos to Holt" for making it clear that stop and frisk was ruled unconstitutional in New York, when Trump said it wasn't. In May 2017, when Holt interviewed President Trump, they discussed Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey. Holt's interview with Trump resulted in extensive media coverage.

Other work

Holt has made cameo appearances in the 1993 film '' The Fugitive''; its 1998 sequel ''

U.S. Marshals The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...

''; and '' Primal Fear'' (1996); as well as on television shows, including playing himself in episodes of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''; the episode "Red, White, or Blue" of the series '' Due South''; "Fate" of ''

Early Edition ''Early Edition'' is an American fantasy comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 1996, to May 27, 2000. Set in Chicago, Illinois, it follows the adventures of a man who mysteriously receives each ''Chicago Sun-Times'' ...

'' and "A New Hope" of ''

Warehouse 13 ''Warehouse 13'' is an American science fiction television series that originally ran from July 7, 2009, to May 19, 2014, on the Syfy network, and was executive produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins for Universal Cable Productions. Described ...

.'' He appeared on the episode "

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

" of the NBC sitcom ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...

.'' He also did a voice-over in the episode "

Sandwich Day "Sandwich Day" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of ''30 Rock'' and the thirty-fifth episode overall. It was written by one of the season's executive producers, Robert Carlock, and one of the season's co-executive producers, Jack B ...

," announcing that

Jack Donaghy John Francis "Jack" Donaghy ( ) is a fictional character on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock'', airing from 2006 to 2013. The character was created by series creator Tina Fey, and is portrayed by Alec Baldwin. He was introduced as the Vice President of E ...

would be a new cabinet member in the Bush administration. Holt announced the 2006, 2007, and 2008

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an all-breed conformation show, traditionally held annually at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is one of a handful of benched shows in the United States. Dogs ...

for the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

, and was featured in ''Making Music'' magazine. He also hosted the 2008

documentary '' Mystery of the Crystal Skulls''. On May 31, 2020, Holt delivered a virtual commencement speech for the 254th graduating class of

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Career timeline

* 1981–2000:

owned and operated stations ** 1981–1982:

reporter ** 1982–1983: KNXT weekend anchor and reporter ** 1983–1986: WCBS-TV anchor ** 1986–2000:

anchor and reporter * 2000–present:

** 2000–2003: NBC News /

correspondent ** 2003–2015: ''

'' co-anchor ** 2003–present: ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' fill-in anchor ** 2007–2015: ''

Weekend'' anchor ** 2009–2015: ''

Why Planes Crash ''Why Planes Crash'' was an aviation documentary TV mini-series based on aircraft accidents and crashes. The series was created and named by producer Caroline Sommers, on behalf of NBC Peacock Productions. The series premiere on July 12, 2009, fe ...

'' voiceover ** 2011–present: ''

'' anchor ** August 6, 2013 – September 2, 2013 and February 9, 2015 – June 18, 2015: ''

'' interim anchor ** June 22, 2015 – present: ''NBC Nightly News'' anchor/managing editor (added managing editor in April 2021)

Awards and honors

* 1990:

Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award The Robert F. Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism is a journalism award named after Robert F. Kennedy and awarded by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. The annual awards are issued in several categories and were est ...

for his work on

's ''48 Hours: No Place Like Home'' . * 2012: Honorary Doctorate from

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

* 2015: Honorary Doctorate from

* 2015: Inducted into the California Hall of Fame on October 28, 2015 * 2016: Alan B. DuMont Broadcaster of the Year from

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a Public university, public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls, New Jersey, Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, ...

* 2016: NABJ Journalist of the Year Award from 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 ...

* 2019: Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism * 2020: Honorary Doctorate from

Personal life

Holt resides in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

with his wife, Carol Hagen; they have two sons, Stefan and Cameron. Stefan Holt graduated in 2009 from

and was the morning news anchor at NBC-owned

WMAQ-TV WMAQ-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Telemundo outlet WSNS-TV (c ...

in Chicago. In 2016, Stefan moved to the same floor as his father's ''Nightly News'' when joining

WNBC WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo station WN ...

, and he eventually succeeded veteran

Chuck Scarborough Charles Bishop Scarborough III (born November 4, 1943) is an American television journalist and author. Since 1974, he has been the lead news anchor at WNBC, the New York City flagship station of the NBC Television Network, and has also appeared ...

as anchor of the station's 11 p.m. news broadcast. Stefan currently is the 10:00 pm anchor at NBC affiliate WMAQ in Chicago. Lester Holt plays

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

and the upright bass. Holt attends the Manhattan

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16. * The entire body of Ch ...

in New York.

References

External links

*
Lester Holt
at

* } {{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, Lester 1959 births Living people 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American journalists African-American Christians African-American journalists African-American television hosts African-American television personalities American male journalists American writers of Indian descent American members of the Churches of Christ American people of English descent American people of Jamaican descent American television hosts American television reporters and correspondents California State University, Sacramento alumni NBC News people New York (state) Independents New York (state) Republicans Journalists from New York City People from Manhattan People from Rancho Cordova, California Television anchors from Chicago Television anchors from Los Angeles California Republicans 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people