Brianna Keilar Biography
Brianna Keilar is a well-known American journalist and co-anchor of CNN News Central. Originally from Australia, she has carved out a significant place for herself in U.S. broadcast journalism, having worked with CNN Newsource and CBS News along the way.
Throughout her career at CNN, Keilar has taken on several important roles, such as White House correspondent, senior political correspondent, Congressional correspondent, and general assignment correspondent based in Washington, D.C. Earlier, she served as a national correspondent for CNN Newsource. Before her time on New Day, she hosted a show called CNN Right Now with Brianna Keilar.
Keilar kicked off her on-air journey in Yakima, Washington, at CBS affiliate KIMA-TV. Beyond television, she also ventured into radio, co-hosting the morning drive show Billy, Blue and Brianna, Too: The Morning Zoo on the contemporary hits station KFFM.
Brianna Keilar CNN | Wikipedia
Brianna is the host of CNN Right Now, which airs at 1:00 p.m. on weekdays. She’s also the creator of Home Front, a column on military families that aims to bridge the gap between military and civilian life. She joined CNN in 2006 as a CNN Newsource journalist, where she covered breaking news and reported from the nation’s capital for over 800 CNN Newsource partner stations.
Brianna Keilar Career
Brianna Keilar is the face of CNN’s morning show “New Day,” which you can catch from 6 to 9 a.m. every weekday. Before this, she anchored “CNN Right Now,” a show that aired at 1 p.m. and featured tough interviews with key news figures, along with coverage of the day’s biggest stories. In 2020, she played a crucial role in the network’s in-depth reporting on the coronavirus pandemic. Her popular “Roll the Tape” segments tackle a variety of political issues and personalities, pushing for greater accountability from the government. Additionally, Keilar writes a column called Home Front, focusing on military families and aiming to connect military and civilian experiences. She stepped into the anchor role in November 2018 after serving as CNN’s senior Washington correspondent.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Keilar was the lead reporter covering Hillary Clinton and the Democratic candidates. She also held the position of senior White House reporter for CNN, where she reported on the Obama administration both from the White House and internationally. In this capacity, she tackled significant issues like the government shutdown and Obamacare, earning the White House Correspondents’ Association’s 2014 Aldo Beckman Memorial Award for her efforts. Keilar was also part of the network’s Emmy Award-winning election night coverage during America’s Choice 2012, where she reported on President Obama’s campaign and the Democratic National Convention.
Before she took on her role at the White House, Keilar was busy making her mark as a congressional correspondent, where she reported on both the House and Senate. Her impressive work covering the $700 billion bank bailout in the fall of 2008 earned her the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress from the National Press Foundation. But that wasn’t her only achievement; before diving into Congress, Keilar was a general assignment journalist at CNN, where she was the first reporter on the scene during the tragic 2007 Virginia Tech shooting.
Keilar kicked off her career at CNN in 2006 as a Newsource correspondent, providing breaking news coverage and reporting from the heart of the nation for over 800 CNN Newsource partner stations. She transitioned to Newsource from CBS News, where she wore many hats as an anchor, reporter, and producer for a CBS broadcast that aired on MTV’s campus network, mtvU. Additionally, she freelanced for CBS Evening News Weekend Edition and even stepped in as an anchor for CBS News’ overnight program, Up to the Minute.
Before she joined CBS, Keilar served as a general assignment correspondent for KIMA-TV, which is a CNN and CBS affiliate based in Yakima, Washington. During that time, she also dabbled in radio, taking on the roles of a morning show host and a weekend newsreader. Keilar kicked off her journalism career as a production assistant and intern at KTVU-TV in San Francisco, another affiliate for both CNN and FOX.
Brianna Keilar Age
How old is Keilar? Keilar is 45 years old as of 2026. She was born on 21 September 1980 in Canberra, Australia.
Brianna Keilar Education
Keilar graduated from Mission Viejo High School in 1998. She earned bachelor’s degrees in mass communications and psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, Phi Beta Kappa.
Brianna Keilar Nationality | Ethnicity
What ethnicity is Keilar? she belongs to white ethnicity/heritage. Keilar was born and raised in Canberra, Australia, and she holds Australian nationality and citizenship by birth.
Brianna Keilar Height
Keilar stands at a height of 5 feet 3 inches.
Brianna Keilar Family | Siblings | Parents
Keilar was born in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, she is the daughter of American Miriam Allen Keilar and Australian Glenn Keilar.
Brianna Keilar Mother
Miriam Keilar, her mother, died of acute leukemia in May 2016. She detailed how she lost her mother in a CNN essay titled “Overcoming loss in the thick of a historic campaign” on October 31, 2016.
Brianna Keilar Husband
Keilar is happily married to Fernando Lujan, and the couple married in Las Vegas on December 30, 2016. Fernando works for the White House National Security Council as a director for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Dave French was her first husband, whom she married on May 2, 2009, however, the couple split in 2011.
Brianna Keilar Children
Antonio Allen Martinez Lujan is Brianna’s son, who was born on June 8, 2018. Teddy Lujan, Lujan’s oldest son from a previous marriage, is her stepson.
Brianna Keilar Salary
How much does she earn? Keilar earns an annual salary ranging between $90,000 – $ 119,500.
Brianna Keilar Net Worth
Keilar has an estimated net worth of $1 million – $3 Million which she has earned through being a political correspondent and anchor.
Brianna Keilar CBS
Keilar kicked off her career as an anchor, reporter, and producer for a CBS program that aired on mtvU, which is MTV’s student network, before making her way to CNN. She also took on the role of a freelance reporter for CBS Evening News Weekend Edition and filled in as an anchor for CBS News’ overnight show, Up to the Minute. Her journey in journalism began as a production assistant and intern at KTVU-TV, a station affiliated with both CNN and FOX in San Francisco.
From there, she moved on to become a general assignment reporter for KIMA-TV, another station linked with CNN and CBS, located in Yakima, Washington. During that time, she also dabbled in radio, serving as a broadcaster on 107.3 KFFM’s “Billy, Blue, and Brianna Too: The Morning Zoo.”
