Chris Wallace

For other people named Chris Wallace, see Chris Wallace (disambiguation).

Chris Wallace
Wallace in 2023
Born
Christopher Wallace

(1947-10-12) October 12, 1947 (age 77)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
EducationHarvard University (BA)
Occupations
  • Television journalist
  • news anchor
Years active1964–present
Notable credits
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
  • Elizabeth Jane Farrell
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1973, divorced)​
  • Lorraine (Martin) Smothers
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1997)​
Children6
Parents

Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father, 60 Minutes journalist Mike Wallace.[1] Over his 60-year career in journalism he has been a correspondent, moderator, or anchor on CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox News, and CNN. In 2018, he was ranked one of America's most trusted television news anchors.[2] He has won three Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, a George Polk Award, the duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton Award.[3][4]

As a teenager, Wallace became an assistant to Walter Cronkite during the 1964 Republican National Convention.[5] After graduating from Harvard University, he worked as a national reporter for The Boston Globe.[6] He transitioned towards broadcast news at NBC (1975–1988), where he served as a White House correspondent, the Sunday anchor for NBC Nightly News (1982–1984, 1986–1987) and moderator of Meet the Press (1987–1988). He then worked for ABC, where he served as an anchor for Primetime Thursday and Nightline (1989–2003). He is the only person to have served as host and moderator of more than one of the major U.S. political Sunday morning talk shows, which he did during his time at NBC.[7]

From 2003 to 2021, he hosted Fox News Sunday, and took high profile interviews with Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Vladimir Putin.[8][9] He made history when he became the first Fox News journalist to moderate a United States Presidential debate in 2016 between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. He returned to moderate the 2020 debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.[10] In 2021 he left Fox to join CNN as host of the interview series Who's Talking to Chris Wallace? (2022–2024) and anchors The Chris Wallace Show (2023–2024).[11][12] In November 2024, Wallace announced he would leave CNN.[13]

  1. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (June 14, 2020). "Chris Wallace, Insider and Outlier at Fox News". The New York Times. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  2. ^ "America's Most Trusted TV News Anchors Revealed (Exclusive Poll)". The Hollywood Reporter. November 13, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Anchor Chris Wallace is Known For Tough, But Fair, Interviews". International Center for Journalists. November 10, 2017. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  6. ^ "LChris Wallace Used to be a Globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  7. ^ Bevan, Tom (September 18, 2015). "The New Dean of Sunday Mornings". RealClear Politics. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  8. ^ "Chris Wallace to Vladimir Putin: Why Do So Many Of Your Enemies Wind Up Dead?". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  9. ^ "5.8 Million Watch Chris Wallace Interview With President Trump". Forbes. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  10. ^ Cherny, Tomas (October 3, 2020). "Corona virus and Fox news collide". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  11. ^ Winslow, George (February 23, 2022). "CNN+ Unveils Its Full Programming Slate". TVTechnology. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  12. ^ Hayes, Dade (May 18, 2022). "Chris Wallace Talk Show Headed To HBO Max And CNN Sunday Night Slot; New CNN Boss Chris Licht Vows To 'Challenge' Cable News Norms, Disrupt Mornings – Upfronts". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  13. ^ Stelter, Brian (November 11, 2024). "Chris Wallace departs CNN after three years at network". CNN. Retrieved November 11, 2024.