Betty Nguyen Biography

Betty Nguyen is an American news anchor with NBC News and MSNBC. Prior to joining NBC in 2013, Nguyen worked for CBS News from 2010 to 2012, where she anchored the The CBS Morning News and was a correspondent for CBS This Morning.

Life and career

Nguyen was born in Saigon, Vietnam. She is of Vietnamese and Scottish American descent. Nguyen and her family left Vietnam for the United States in April 1975. She grew up in Fort Worth, Texas and attended the University of Texas at Austin. Nguyen was a cheerleader during her younger days, and a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority in college. Nguyen graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.

Betty joined CBS News in March 2010 from CNN where she previously worked for six years. At CBS News, she anchored the overnight newscast Up to the Minute and CBS Morning News. During her tenure there, she also substituted on the CBS Evening News with Russ Mitchell, along with Senior Business Correspondent Anthony Mason. From 2011 to 2012, she served as headline anchor of the Saturday edition of The Early Show and CBS This Morning Saturday. Betty Nguyen left CBS News in April 2012 following the April 6, 2012 edition of the CBS Morning News.

Before becoming a network anchor and correspondent for CBS News, Nguyen anchored the weekend morning edition of CNN Newsroom. She spent six years at CNN covering major news events including the earthquake in Haiti, presidential elections in Africa, hurricane Katrina, the death of Pope John Paul II, and went on an undercover assignment in Myanmar. Prior to that, Nguyen was an anchor at KTVT-TV, the CBS affiliate in Dallas, where she covered numerous breaking news events, including the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Nguyen began her career as a morning anchor and reporter at KWTX-TV, the CBS affiliate in Waco, Texas.

In 2007, the Smithsonian Institution recognized Nguyen as the first Vietnamese-American to anchor a national television news broadcast in the United States. According to Maxim.com, Nguyen was named one of "TV´s 10 Hottest News Anchors" in 2008. In 2011, she was listed as one of "The 10 Most Stylish Anchors & Reporters" by The Huffington Post.

She spent a short time as a freelance correspondent for E! Entertainment Network. Nguyen has hosted several specials and was featured as a reporter on episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger. She can also be seen in Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts".

Nguyen is a Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Cowboys fan as well as a fan of the Texas Longhorns, her alma mater.

Fleeing Vietnam

Nguyen was "not even a year old" toward the end of the Vietnam War when her family fled South Vietnam. From a CNN videotape, she speaks about her father.

Board Membership and Affiliations

• Co-founder of Help the Hungry
• Member of the Asian American Journalists Association

• 2003 Regional Emmy award for "Outstanding Noon Newscast"
• 2003 Legacy of Women Award recipient at the 11th annual Legacy of Women awards luncheon
• 2003 Great Women of Texas: Women of Influence Honoree, an honor presented by the Fort Worth Business Press
• 2007 Golden Torch Award recipient, an honor from the Vietnamese American National Gala (VANG)
• 2008 Outstanding Young Texas Exes Award recipient
• 2008 My Hero recipient, which is CNN's internal Hero of the Year awards called My Heroes
• 2009 Andrew Heiskell Community Service Award recipient at 28th annual Andrew Heiskell Community Service awards luncheon
• 2010 ZTA Foundation Outstanding Alumna Award