Norah O'Donnell is a multiple Emmy-Award winning 60 Minutes correspondent. Previously, O'Donnell served as the managing editor and anchor of the "CBS Evening News" for more than five years, in addition to anchoring CBS News election specials. O'Donnell is also the host of "Healthful with Norah O'Donnell," a CBS News podcast focused on women's health.
O'Donnell has earned nearly every major recognition in journalism during her nearly three decades of experience covering the biggest stories in the world and conducting impactful, news-making interviews. She has covered eight presidential elections and has interviewed every living president of the United States, as well as the late former President Jimmy Carter. In 2024, O'Donnell spoke exclusively with Pope Francis in Rome for a historic and first-of-its-kind papal interview for an American journalist.
O'Donnell is also the author of the New York Times bestseller "We the Women: Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America," a history book launched as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Named anchor and managing editor of the "CBS Evening News" in 2019, O'Donnell led CBS News' flagship broadcast from Washington, D.C., becoming only the third woman to solo anchor a network evening broadcast. Previously, O'Donnell was co-host of "CBS This Morning" for seven years. Prior to that, she served as CBS News' chief White House correspondent covering the administration of President Barack Obama.
O'Donnell has been reporting for 60 Minutes since 2013 and has sat down with some of the world's most influential leaders for the broadcast. Last season, she interviewed President Donald Trump twice, including his first interview after the attempted assassination at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. In addition, she has interviewed then-presidential candidate Vice President Joe Biden, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and others. In September 2019, O'Donnell interviewed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in his first interview following the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi. She also interviewed the Crown Prince for 60 Minutes in 2018, making her the only Western television journalist to have interviewed the Saudi Crown Prince twice. She has also interviewed South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the Duke of Sussex Prince Harry, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, and the Dalai Lama.
As the anchor of the "CBS Evening News," O'Donnell conducted interviews with leading newsmakers, including President Joe Biden's first interview after taking office; the first-ever interview with the four highest-ranking women in the United States military; an exclusive interview with a former staffer for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who alleged sexual harassment by the governor, and more.
O'Donnell has taken CBS News across the world to provide viewers with a first-hand look at some of the most important stories of our time. She was the first American journalist to travel to the Red Sea during the height of the Houthi attacks on U.S. Navy sailors and ships. She also reported from Tel Aviv immediately after the October 7th terror attacks, and was the first anchor to visit Maui after the deadliest wildfires in the U.S. in over a century.
She is committed to profiling the communities and individuals behind the day's biggest headlines, in what she calls "hard news with heart." For example, she has reported extensively on the U.S. military, including launching "Profiles in Service," a series highlighting stories of veterans, members of the military and Americans from coast to coast who are giving back to their communities. O'Donnell also led the development of "Heart of America," a daily segment as part of the "CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell" that highlighted the Americans who inspire and provide hope from every corner of the country.
In 2023, O'Donnell and the "CBS Evening News" were awarded an Edward R. Murrow Award for the broadcast's report on the landmark overturning of Roe v. Wade. O'Donnell was awarded a prestigious 2022 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award and the Scripps Howard Award for Excellence in Broadcast National/International Coverage in 2021 for an exclusive, year-and-a-half-long investigation into sexual assault in the U.S. military. This followed her Emmy Award-winning reporting in 2018 on sexual assaults at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Her reporting on sexual assault at the Air Force Academy was also recognized by the prestigious White House Correspondents' Association. O'Donnell also received the Headliner Award in Business and Consumer Reporting for her 60 Minutes report on the front lines of automotive industry factories for Ford and GM as they pivoted in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic from making cars to PPE and ventilators in a rapid changeover not seen since World War II. In 2020, O'Donnell and the "CBS Evening News" were also recognized with an Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast for its on-the-ground and exclusive coverage from the U.S.-Mexico border, including the first access inside migrant detention centers and an exclusive interview with Homeland Security secretary Kevin McAleenan.
O'Donnell received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Breaking News Coverage for her contributions to CBS News' coverage of the murder of George Floyd. O'Donnell was part of the CBS News team that received a duPont-Columbia Award for the Network's coverage of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. She has earned several Gracie Awards, including being named Outstanding National News On-Air talent in 2025, 2018 and, 2016, and Outstanding News Anchor in 2020. Additionally, O'Donnell was awarded the Merriman Smith Memorial Award for excellence in presidential news coverage for her exclusive 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, on his decision not to run for president in 2016.
Prior to joining CBS News, O'Donnell worked for more than a decade at NBC News, where she covered the Pentagon, Congress, and the White House. At NBC, she reported from the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, and received a second Sigma Delta Chi Award for a "Dateline NBC" story titled "D.C. In Crisis." In the months following the attacks, she traveled extensively with then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, including on his first trip to Afghanistan following the terrorist attacks.
Prior to covering the White House, O'Donnell was an NBC News congressional correspondent, reporting on the lead-up to the Iraq War. She began her career as a print reporter for Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, where she covered the impeachment of President Bill Clinton and traveled the country covering congressional elections.
O'Donnell is a member of the Board of Directors at Georgetown University, from which she holds three degrees, including a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, a Master of Arts, and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. She is married and the mother of three children. Born into a military family, O'Donnell grew up in San Antonio, Texas; Landstuhl, Germany; Seoul, South Korea, and Washington, D.C.
