For the African American community, it is not mincing words to say that a greater percentage of its celebrities exists in the sports and entertainment world. However, a few of them are making a name for themselves in other industries, one of whom is Janai Norman, a journalist who has worked with the ABC News network for years.
In the case of Janai Norman, her story is a tribute to hard work and patience. This makes her success relatable and within the reach of regular people. She has grown in her chosen career to become one of the hosts of ABC’s top-rated shows.
Janai Norman’s Background Details
Janai Norman is one of the private ones, who prefer to keep details of their background tucked away from the media, however, thanks to social media, a few details about her roots have come to light. The ABC journalist was born in Durban, South Africa. And Instagram post she made on her birthday revealed her birthday to be the 5th of January 1990.
While thanking her followers for their heartfelt birthday wishes, the journalist went on to reveal that she was turning 30, confirming year of birth as 1990.
Following the completion of her basic education, Janai Norman headed over to the University of Missouri-Columbia where she studied both Mass Communication and Psychology, graduating from the institution in 2011.
Aftert graduation, she began her career by working as an intern at ABC TV Network’s News One.
A Rundown of Her Journalism Career Accomplishments
After a couple of months of working as an intern at News One, Janai got a chance to advance her career and gain some experience as a reporter for Fox23, making the switch in 2012. She remained with the local TV station for two years before leaving the station for another. In 2014, she joined WFTV, a TV station based in Orlando, where she continued her accumulation of experience as both a reporter and a news anchor. She spent two years working for WFTV before she returned to ABC News.
Since returning to ABC News in 2016, Janai Norman has remained a part of the news organization till date. She was made a co-anchor of Good Morning America on November 20, 2018. She eventually debuted on the show four days later, working alongside Kendis Gibson.
Her work as a news correspondent, anchor and host cuts across a couple of news shows on the news network, including World News Now. With an established career and years of more success to come, Janai Norman is an inspiration to aspiring journalists and other members of the minority community who wish to make something of themselves in their respective professions.
How Much is She Worth?
From intern to a leading name in a national news network, Janai Norman has seen continuous growth in her career since she joined the Journalism industry, both in terms of her position and her finances. For the latter, she has been able to amass a net worth in the region of $1 million, the bulk of which is believed to have been earned from her time as a co-host and anchor for World News Now and ABC America This Morning.
See Also: Mary Bruce – Biography, Husband, Facts About The ABC News Reporter
The Celebrated Journalist Is A Wife and Mother
Janai Norman’s has been able to build a well-rounded successful life. She has been married for a few years and has since become a mother.
Janai often shares photos of her husband online, however, she is yet to reveal his name.
Their marriage was in May 2018, in a wedding that was held in Bougainville, Barbados. In a post shared on the 2nd of April, 2019, to celebrate her husband, Janai revealed that her engagement was on a beach in Barcelona.
Before they made their union official in 2018, the couple in December 2017 welcomed their first child. The delivery took place in the comfort of their home. In celebration of the birth of her child, Janai Norman and her husband went on a maternity leave trip to Umhlanga Rocks in South Africa where pictures of the new child were taken.
In a post she shared on January 25th, 2020, Janai Norman revealed that she was heavily pregnant with her second child. The post was a photo of her baby bump while on vacation in Ghana
Janai and her mystery husband reside in New York.
Making The Decision to Rock Her Natural Hair On-air
Growing up, Janai Norman felt conditioned by the conventional beauty standard such as straight hair, fair skin, blue or green eyes which she didn’t possess. However, years into her career and during her time at ABC, Norman would establish her own beauty standard with her signature black natural hair. She admitted that she struggled with internal conflict while trying to fit into the conventional beauty standard.
After learning to appreciate her uniqueness, Janai Norman reassured herself that she could still be seen as a professional with her natural hair. She then decided to rock her natural hair on-air, with that extra needed encouragement by her hairstylist. Amazingly, the first time she wore her natural hair on Good Morning America with Robin Roberts, Robin professed her love for her hair and that moment changed everything for Janai.
The positive feedback she got after the show prompted her to begin using the FreeTheCurls hashtag to celebrate wearing her natural hair. Consequently, the hashtag has created unprecedented awareness since then. Following the initiation of her catchphrase, “To free my curls, I first had to free my mind”, Janai has inspired many women to wear their natural hair to work without fear of prejudice.
Janai Norman’s Natural Hair Campaign Milestone And It’s Positive Reviews
Due to the fact that there are some industries as well as, news directors who do not permit black anchors and reporters to wear their natural hair on-air, Janai Norman has become a voice for black women as she continues to champion the #FreeTheCurls campaign to advocate for women to be allowed to rock their natural hair on-air.
Interestingly, her campaign has made a significant contribution, one of which was contributing to the new bill passed by the California Senate in April 2019, which prohibits racial discrimination against employees with natural hairstyles.
