Is Lester Holt Leaving NBC Nightly News? Who is Lester Holt?

Lester Holt is the current anchor of NBC Nightly News, having taken over on June 18, 2015, after Brian Williams' demotion. He also hosts NBC Nightly News Kids Edition and Dateline NBC.

by V Gomala

Updated Oct 14, 2024

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Is Lester Holt Leaving NBC Nightly News? Who is Lester Holt?

Is Lester Holt Leaving NBC Nightly News?

There is no information to suggest that Lester Holt is leaving NBC Nightly News. Lester Don Holt Jr. is a news anchor for NBC. He hosts the weekday edition of NBC Nightly News, NBC Nightly News Kids Edition, and Dateline NBC. On June 18, 2015, he became the permanent anchor of NBC Nightly News after Brian Williams was demoted.

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Who is Lester Holt?

Lester Don Holt Jr. is an American news anchor. Holt is notable for being the first Black male solo anchor for a major network newscast, following in the footsteps of Max Robinson, who was an ABC News evening co-anchor.

Name Lester Don Holt Jr.
Date of Birth March 8, 1959 (age 65)
Place of Birth Hamilton Air Force Base, California, U.S.
Education California State University, Sacramento (no degree)
Occupations Journalist, news anchor
Spouse Carol Hagen (m. 1982)
Children 2, including Stefan Holt

NBC Nightly News

NBC Nightly News is a popular evening news program on NBC, hosted by Lester Holt since June 22, 2015. It started on August 3, 1970, and is now the second most-watched network news show in the U.S., after ABC's World News Tonight. The show is mainly produced at NBC Studios in New York City but sometimes airs from Los Angeles or Washington, D.C.

Lester Holt Age

Holt was born on March 8, 1959, at Hamilton Air Force Base in Marin County, California. He is 65 years old. He is the youngest of four children of June and Lester Don Holt Sr. His mother's family is from Jamaica. His maternal grandfather, Canute DeRozario, was of Anglo-Indian descent, born in Spanish Town, Jamaica.

He was one of 14 children, with an Indian father from Calcutta and an English mother from Jamaica. Holt's maternal grandmother, May, was Afro-Jamaican, born in Manchester Parish, Jamaica, but grew up in Harlem, New York. Holt's father is African American from Michigan, with family roots in Tennessee.

Lester Holt Career

Lester Holt worked for CBS for 19 years as a reporter, anchor, and international correspondent. He began at WCBS-TV in New York in 1981, then worked in Los Angeles and returned to New York. In 1986, he moved to WBBM-TV in Chicago, where he anchored the evening news for 14 years and reported from conflict zones around the world.

Holt joined MSNBC in 2000 and became a full-time anchor for NBC News in 2003, filling in for shows like NBC Nightly News and Today. He became the weekend anchor for NBC Nightly News in 2007 and later replaced Brian Williams as the weekday anchor. Holt also hosts Dateline and moderated presidential debates in 2016.

In 2017, he interviewed President Trump, discussing significant topics like Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Holt's ratings increased as he covered the crisis extensively, often ending his shows with personal reflections. He announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 and interviewed the president of Iran in 2023. In October 2023, he reported on the Hamas attack on Israel. Since 2020, he has signed off his broadcasts by saying, "I'm Lester Holt; please take care of yourself, and each other. Good night."

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