Tragic Details About Former CNN Anchor Poppy Harlow

Poppy Harlow established herself as a dedicated journalist and a bright-faced blonde during her more than 15 years on CNN. Throughout her prosperous career, she rose through the ranks from local news to Forbes.com reporter before becoming a live news correspondent and eventually an anchor for CNN. Her reporting typically ranges between topics of news, politics, and business. Assignments have taken her around the world and have given her the chance to interview heavyweights like Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg. Harlow has moderated two Presidential Town Halls for CNN and has even released two books as a children's author.

However, when the cameras go off, not many people know the truth about Harlow. For one, her real name is Katharine Julia Harlow, and she grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her life has taken some unexpected turns that directly impacted her career. The married mother of two has experienced a lot, including painful losses and on-air mishaps. 

Poppy Harlow's parents served as inspiration throughout her life and ultimately led her to find and pursue journalism. Her father, James Harlow, was an attorney who graduated from Columbia College. He was diagnosed with cancer when Poppy was only 15 years old and passed away only a few months later at the young age of 49.

Poppy originally planned to take after James and attend law school but fell in love with journalism when she attended her dad's alma mater. Years later, she attended Yale Law School to pursue a master's degree. And her time at Columbia strengthened the bond that she had with her late father. Poppy told Columbia College Today, "When he died, I think anything I could do to be close to him, I did. I know I took some of the same classes as he did because of the core curriculum, so he was definitely in my mind all the time." Poppy still celebrates her father's influence to this day and chose to highlight him for a 2016 CNN special entitled "Person Who Changed My Life."

In December 2015, Poppy Harlow experienced a health scare while she was live on television. During a CNN news segment, Harlow began slurring her words and trying to catch her breath. CNN immediately cut to a commercial, and Harlow later revealed that she had passed out. Viewers were especially worried as Harlow was pregnant with her first child at this time. (She had been working throughout her pregnancy, even reporting overseas following the November 2015 terrorist attack in Paris.)

After the incident, Harlow assured followers on X (formerly Twitter) that she was well and thanked them for well wishes. "Thank you all for your concern and messages! I am ok! Passed out briefly and am with the doctor now. So thankful to our amazing CNN team," she wrote. She also assured fans that her unborn baby was also doing well. "Our little girl due this spring is doing just fine," she wrote in another X post. Although everything turned out fine, it was a frightening moment for both Harlow and viewers watching at home.

Poppy Harlow left CNN for the first time in 2021 to earn a master's degree in law from Yale Law School. Her departure, however, was brief, and she returned to the network a year later when she was named a co-anchor of "CNN This Morning" alongside Don Lemon and Kaitlan Collins. The show would see its fair share of controversy during its first year on the air. 

Lemon was accused of being hostile in the workplace and was criticized for making a sexist comment about Presidential hopeful Nikki Haley. Lemon was fired from CNN in April 2023, and the network's CEO, Chris Licht, was fired just a couple of months later. This left "CNN This Morning" in an awkward transition phase. Collins was moved to a different CNN show in May 2023, and Phil Mattingly became Harlow's new cohost. Harlow stayed on as host until the show was ultimately canceled in 2024 due to low ratings. After the show concluded, Harlow was left without a regular gig and exited CNN for the second and final time. A source told InTouch of Harlow's exit (via Yahoo), "Poppy was offered less money and given the opportunity to stay. She chose to leave." Upon her exit, Harlow said she would be spending more time with her family.