It is one thing to find a profession one is willing to work in for over two decades, and it is another to find a company or organization willing to have you in its employ for that length of time. The first requires lasting passion on the part of the employee while the other requires consistent excellence and fortunately for Kelly O’Donnell, those are two things she’s had since she joined NBC in 1994.
Over the years, she has worked in different capacities as a correspondent and news anchor and has been recognized for her excellence among her peers. This is evident by her induction into the Cleveland Journalism of Hall of Fame. Read below to learn all you need to know about Kelly O’Donnell and her life so far.
Kelly O’Donnell Biography
For over 25 years, Kelly O’Donnell has been doing just that, primarily for the NBC and that journey began all the way in 1987 when she graduated from the Northwestern University with a Bachelor’s degree in Science in Education.
It had been the culmination of her academic journey that began shortly after she was born on the 17th of May, 1965 in Cleveland, Ohio. She attended Villa Angela St Joseph High School for her basic education before ending up at Northwestern.
Following her graduation from university, Kelly O’Donnell quickly began her career in her home state, in Cleveland at WJW TV as a reporter and an anchor. In this early phase of her career, she got a chance to work with Martin Savidge, a former reporter of the media organization where she would make her name, learning the ropes and gaining all the experience she will need to work on the big stage at the national level.
As part of her journey, she served as a panelist on The Chris Matthews Show and eventually joined NBC in 1994 as a news anchor and substitute host for one of the network’s programs, Weekend Today and the weekend version of Nightly News. Thus, began a long and accomplished career on NBC where she worked in different capacities as both news anchor and correspondent.
During her time with the news network, she has worked at the forefront of the news, covering major stories like the Iraq War where she reported from Baghdad and Qatar, the Oklahoma City bombing, the death of Pope John Paul II and sporting events like the Olympic games, both summer, and winter.
Having been a shining light for journalism over the course of her career, Kelly O’Donnell has been at the receiving end of a number of personal accolades, including being inducted into the Ohio Radio/Television Broadcasters Hall of Fame, a National Headliner award, a couple of Emmy Awards and a few others. Most recently, she has been serving as the White House and Capitol Hill correspondent, along with being the political reporter for NBC News.
Personal Life
For all the years Kelly O’Donnell has spent in the industry, only one thing has remained true and open to the media – she is married to J. David Ake. Anything other than that, including when they met when they got married and other personal details about the relationship remain unknown but she has been in a marriage with the professional photographer for a significant amount of years.
Her husband, J. David Ake, as mentioned, is a professional photographer whose career has spanned across United Press International, France Press, Reuters and currently works for The Associated Press as the Assistant Chief of Bureau for Photos.
Like his wife, J. David Ake is also an award-winning photojournalist and has been at the center of some of the most important pictures in the past decade. The couple currently has no children and do not appear to have any interest in one.
See Also: David Gura – Biography, Married, Wife, Family Of The Journalist
Kelly O’Donnell’s Weight Gain & Body Measurement
For those who have been following the career of Kelly O’Donnell since she joined NBC, a noticeable change in her body size is very evident. The award-winning journalist joined the industry in her younger days with a slender fitter figure but getting older has had a bloating effect on Kelly’s body size, transforming her from a weight size in the high 50s to a current weight size of 78kg.
Along with her weight is a height of 5 feet 10 inches and body measurement of 39, 28 and 38 inches for her bust, waist and hip sizes respectively. Additionally, Kelly O’Donnell, being Irish, has red hair.
