Amanpour, Christiane

▪ 1997

      Throughout the 1990s, in war zones throughout the world, there was one constant. No matter how distant or dangerous the battlefield, viewers of the Cable News Network (CNN) could count on the reporting of Christiane Amanpour. One of a small group of female foreign correspondents, Amanpour had gained a reputation as the leading war reporter of her generation. As senior international correspondent for CNN, she covered conflicts in the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Haiti, Rwanda, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1996 she signed a contract with the CBS network to appear on the prestigious "60 Minutes" as a correspondent. In an unprecedented arrangement, Amanpour would also keep her job at CNN.

      Amanpour was born in London in 1958. Her father, an Iranian airline executive, moved the family to Tehran shortly after her birth. Politically connected and wealthy, the Amanpours led a privileged life in Iran. At the age of 11, Amanpour was sent back to England to attend the Holy Cross Convent School in Buckinghamshire. She stayed at Holy Cross until she was 16, when she went to the exclusive New Hall School, the oldest Roman Catholic girls' school in the U.K. In January 1979 the Islamic revolution in Iran toppled the shah, forcing many of his followers to leave the country, the Amanpour family among them. Her father lost everything he had owned in Iran. Amanpour later credited her desire to be a journalist to this firsthand experience.

      Amanpour moved to the U.S. and attended the University of Rhode Island, majoring in journalism. Following her graduation, she worked at an NBC affiliate in Providence, R.I. In September 1983 she was hired at the fledgling CNN as an assistant for the international news desk. By 1986 she was working at CNN's New York bureau as a producer-correspondent. Amanpour received her big break in 1989, when she was promoted to a post in Frankfurt, Ger. She arrived there at an opportune time; the pro-democracy movement was sweeping Eastern Europe, and Amanpour quickly became CNN's reporter on the spot.

      Amanpour gained distinction in Europe, but it was during the Persian Gulf War that she became a familiar face. She covered the conflict from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait to the eventual triumph of the U.S.-led coalition. After the war she reported on the Kurdish uprising in northern Iraq. In 1992 Amanpour went to Bosnia and Herzegovina to cover the outbreak of violence that she felt would become "my generation's war." Her reporting was credited with bringing the savage nature of that conflict to the attention of the world, although some criticized her for what they felt was her tendency to editorialize rather than report, claiming that she was clearly biased against the Serbs. Amanpour responded by stating that "objectivity means giving all sides a hearing. It doesn't mean treating all sides equally."

      (JOHN H. MATHEWS)

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▪ journalist

born Jan. 12, 1958, London, Eng.

      English-born journalist who, as a correspondent for the Cable News Network (CNN), was one of the leading war reporters of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

      Amanpour's father, an Iranian airline executive, moved the family to Tehrān shortly after her birth. Politically connected and wealthy, the Amanpours led a privileged life in Iran. At age 11, Amanpour was sent back to England to attend the Holy Cross Convent School in Buckinghamshire. She stayed at Holy Cross until she was 16, when she went to the exclusive New Hall School, the oldest Roman Catholic girls' school in the United Kingdom. In January 1979 the Islamic revolution in Iran toppled the shah, forcing many of his followers to leave the country, the Amanpour family among them. Her father lost everything he had owned in Iran. Amanpour later credited her desire to be a journalist to this firsthand experience.

      Amanpour subsequently moved to the United States. She attended the University of Rhode Island, graduating with a degree in journalism in 1983. She went to work for an NBC affiliate in Providence, R.I., but in September 1983 she was hired at the fledgling CNN as an assistant for the international news desk. By 1986 she was working at CNN's New York bureau as a producer-correspondent. Amanpour received her big break in 1989, when she was promoted to a post in Frankfurt, then in West Germany. She arrived there at an opportune time; the pro-democracy movement was sweeping eastern Europe, and Amanpour quickly became CNN's reporter on the spot.

      Amanpour gained distinction in Europe, but it was during the Persian Gulf War (1990–91) that she became a familiar face. She covered the conflict from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait to the eventual triumph of the U.S.-led coalition. After the war she reported on the Kurdish uprising in northern Iraq. In 1992 Amanpour went to Bosnia and Herzegovina to cover the outbreak of violence that she thought would become "my generation's war." Her reporting was credited with bringing the savage nature of that conflict to the attention of the world, although some criticized her for what they thought was her tendency to editorialize rather than report, claiming that she was clearly biased against the Serbs.

      Amanpour also produced a series of programs that delved deeper into an issue than was possible on a nightly news show. Her documentaries include Where Have All the Parents Gone? (2006), which focused on Kenyan children who were orphaned due to AIDS; In the Footsteps of Bin Laden (2006); and The War Within (2007), a report on Islamic unrest in the United Kingdom. In 2007 she presented the six-hour series God's Warrior, which dealt with the defenders of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Amanpour was the recipient of numerous honours, including an Edward R. Murrow Award (2002). In 2007 she was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

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