
Gwen Ifill Biography
Gwen Ifill’s imageGwendolyn L. Ifill also called Gwen Ifill is the real name of the late who was an American journalist, television newscaster, and author. Being in that career field she became the first African-American woman in 1999 to actually host a nationally televised U.S. However, during that time it was a public affairs program with Washington Week in Review. Eventually, Gwen became the moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and co-anchor and co-managing editor, with Judy Woodruff, of the PBS NewsHour, both of which air on PBS.
Gwen Ifill Age
Ifill was born in Jamaica, Queens in New York City in the year 1955 on the 29th of September. She comes from a family of six children and she is the fifth among them. It was confirmed in 2016 that she passed on at the age of 61 years old.
Gwen Ifill Height and weight
Gwen Ifill’s height is not available right now. We will update Gwen Ifill’s Height, Weight, and Body Measurements as soon as possible.
Gwen Ifill Education
So during her youth, her father’s job was too demanding because it required the family to live in several cities in New England and on the Eastern Seaboard. Therefore her lower education has not been clarified exactly due to the shifts in different cities. But it is proof that she graduated from Springfield Central High School in Springfield, Massachusetts (then Classical High School) in 1973. Later on, she joined Simmons College, a women’s college in Boston where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in communications in 1977.
Gwen Ifill Career
While at Simmons College, Ifill interned for the Boston Herald-American. One day at work, she discovered a note on her desk that read, “Nigger go home.” After showing the note to editors at the newspaper, who “were horrified”, they offered her a job when she graduated from college in 1977.
Ifill went on to work for the Baltimore Evening Sun from 1981 to 1984 and for The Washington Post from 1984 to 1991. She left the Post after being told she wasn’t ready to cover Capitol Hill but was hired by The New York Times, where she covered the White House from 1991 to 1994. So her first job in television was with NBC, where she was the network’s Capitol Hill reporter in 1994.
Later on, on October 5, 2004, Ifill moderated the vice-presidential debate between the Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and the Democratic candidate and U.S. Senator from North Carolina, John Edwards. Howard Kurtz described the consensus that Ifill “acquitted herself well” as moderator. She was the first African-American woman to moderate a vice-presidential debate.
Afterward, on August 18th and 19th, 2009, Ifill appeared as the guest expert lifeline on the 10th Anniversary Primetime Celebration of ABC’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”, hosted by Regis Philbin. Other experts during the run, in order of appearance, were Sam Donaldson, George Stephanopoulos, Wolf Blitzer, Cokie Roberts, Candy Crowley, Connie Chung, Jodi Picoult, Ken Jennings, Mo Rocca, and Bill Nye. Basically, this is the lifetime career of Ifill.
Gwen Ifill’s Net worth
At The Time of her Death, she had accumulated quite a satisfying amount of wealth. Her net worth is estimated to be $5 million dollars which are impressive.
Gwen Ifill Salary
Before her death, she was serving at CNN. Ifill’s life was private and she kept her salary a secret till her death. Though her primary income was from her CNN job.
Gwen Ifill Family
According to sources she comes from a family of six children and is the fifth born. The parents are Urcille Ifill, Sr., the father of a Panamanian of Barbadian descent who emigrated from Panama. Eleanor Ifill, the mother was from Barbados.
As a child, she lived in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts church parsonages and in federally subsidized housing in Buffalo and New York City. During her youthful times, her father’s ministry required the family to live in several cities in New England and on the Eastern Seaboard. He served as pastor in AME churches.
Gwen Ifill Husband
Ifill was not married, nor did she have any children. In fact, Ifill never married, when asked about this, she once said that it’s not that she was swearing off marriage, but that she just figured it would happen one day.
Children
Due to her singlehood status in the relationship, she did not manage to have any kids.
Stamp
The US Postal Service has issued a Black Heritage Forever stamp in memory of Gwen Ifill, an African American woman who broke gender and racial barriers and became a role model for journalists. The stamp, made available on Thursday just ahead of Black History Month, features a smiling Ifill in a photograph taken by Robert Severi in 2008.
The stamp was designed by art director Derry Noyes. According to US postal service, it is the 43rd Black Heritage stamp in a series. It is in honor of African American leaders. The following is a picture of the stamp.
Awards and Honors
So during her lifetime received a number of awards and including the following;
- Women in Film and Video Women of Vision Award in 2000
- Gracie Allen Tribute Award
- Peabody Award in 2008
- First Amendment Award
- Goldsmith Career Award
- First Amendment Award
- Al Neuharth Award
- 46th NAACP Image Awards
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- Fourth Estate Award
- John Chancellor Award
In addition to this Ifill received more than 20 honorary doctorates from universities around the world, including Georgetown University, Smith College, Bates College, and Skidmore College.
Death
So on the 14th of November, 2016 is when the news reached the world that she passed on. On November 14, PBS NewsHour devoted its full show in tribute to her. Over the course of the following week, this developed into a series of tributes on various NewsHours as “Remembering Gwen.” Basically, her death was sudden even though is said to be a journalist’s journalist. Ifill died of breast and endometrial cancer.
President Obama extended his condolences to Ifill’s family, saying that he “always appreciated [her] reporting even when [he] was at the receiving end of one of her tough interviews.”