Tragic Details About CNN Anchor Christiane Amanpour's Life

Christiane Amanpour is one of the most highly respected journalists in modern history. She has spent decades covering international relations and has been a reporter for networks like CNN, CBS and ABC. Amanpour is best known as CNN's chief international correspondent where she has spent many years at the center of international battles by visiting war torn countries to report the latest updates. She eventually got to host her own interview and commentary shows and took over PBS's nightly news slot from Charlie Rose in 2018. She has been decorated with multiple prestigious awards including Emmys and Peabody Awards.

But the truth about Amanpour is that she is no stranger to hardship. Not only does she have a dangerous job, but has dealt with life-threatening events in her past. Plus she began her career in a time when it was not easy for women of color to get much opportunity in news. Thankfully, as media critic Marvin Kalb told Newsweek, Amanpour's qualities that set her apart were helpful in establishing a unique voice in reporting. "One, she's a woman; two, she has an accent, and three, she's gutsy.”

Christiane Amanpour is of English and Iranian descent. She was born in England but was raised in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Her family was quite affluent as her father was a successful executive for an Iranian airline. She told Bloomberg of her earliest years: "My upbringing in Tehran was magical — very free. There was never any question that anything was off-limits for my life." The first time she had to leave Iran was when she attended a British boarding school at 11 years old. But soon, her family would have to permanently leave their home forever.

When the Iranian Revolution occurred in 1979, Amanpour's father lost his fortune and the family lost everything they owned. The Amanpours were exiled from Iran and quickly moved to the United States. Amanpour has said that living through that experience inspired her to become a journalist, and little did she know that she would soon become one of the most famous journalists on television. She began working at CNN in 1983 as an assistant to the international beat and became a foreign correspondent for the network in 1990, covering the Gulf War.

In 2021, Christiane Amanpour was diagnosed with stage 2 ovarian clear cell carcinoma at the age of 63. Her treatment plan included a major surgery followed by 18 weeks of chemotherapy. Amanpour shared the news with the public to encourage women to get regular health checkups. "I'm telling you this in the interest of transparency, but in truth, really, mostly, as a shoutout to early diagnosis," she told People. "To urge women to educate themselves on this disease; to get all the regular screenings and scans that you can; to always listen to your body; and to of course, to ensure that your legitimate medical concerns are not dismissed or diminished."

A year later while in remission, Amanpour reflected on her feelings about the frightening health diagnosis. "Ovarian cancer is known as the invisible killer. Get all the scans that you can," she advised in a conversation with People. "We women know better what's going on with our own bodies than anybody." Amanpour returned to her work at CNN a few months after completing her chemotherapy.

Christiane Amanpour and her husband Jamie Rubin announced in 2018 that they were divorcing after 20 years of marriage. It was revealed that Rubin had relocated to Washington while Amanpour remained living in London. They wed in 1998 and welcomed a son, Darius John Rubin, in 2000. This remains the first and only marriage for both Amanpour and Rubin. According to The Washington Post, a friend of the couple said the separation was amicable and "the two remain close friends."

Both have been heavily involved in politics for their entire careers. Rubin is a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and served as Special Envoy and Coordinator for the U.S. Department of State's Global Engagement Center. Politics is ultimately what led to the couple's courtship. According to The New York Times, the former couple first met in 1997 in Bosnia while Amanpour was on assignment and Rubin was traveling with Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright.

Christiane Amanpour has been known to conduct compelling interviews with international leaders. That was the plan in 2022 when Amanpour was expecting to interview Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. The meeting was planned to take place when the Iranian President was in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly. But according to NBC News, an aide to Raisi told Amanpour forty minutes after the interview was scheduled to begin that the president was "suggesting" Amanpour wear a headscarf. In response, Amanpour chose not to conduct the interview.

Amanpour spoke of the event on Twitter (now X). In a thread, she said: "I politely declined. We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition regarding headscarves. I pointed out that no previous Iranian president has required this when I have interviewed them outside Iran." She continued: "The aide made it clear that the interview would not happen if I did not wear a headscarf ... And so we walked away. The interview didn't happen."

From 1996 until 2005, Christiane Amanpour had been a special contributor to the iconic CBS news series "60 Minutes." During that time, she would contribute four or five times each year on high profile stories. She was asked to join the program by executive producer Don Hewitt who spoke highly of her work. But things seemed to change when Jeff Fager took over as the show's executive producer. (Fager was subsequently fired from the show himself in 2018.) While there was speculation that it was Fager's decision not to renew Amanpour's contract, the contributor released a statement saying she decided not to seek renewal. Amanpour said at the time (via CBS News), "I have concluded this unique arrangement has now run its course."

Amanpour bounced between networks again in 2010 when she announced she was leaving CNN to anchor the long-running ABC news show "This Week." ABC News president at the time David Westin said this was a way to add a new, international perspective to the show. But the following year, it was announced that Amanpour would depart as host of "This Week." She returned to CNN for her own show, but struck up a deal to be a contributor to ABC News as a global affairs anchor. Amanpour was replaced on "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos, who still serves as host of the program.