Lester Holt Bio, NBC, Age, Height, Education, Family, Wife, Children, Salary/ Net Worth and Career

Lester Holt Biography

Lester Don Holt Jr. is an American news anchor for the weekday edition of NBC Nightly News, NBC Nightly News Kids Edition, and Dateline NBC. On June 18, 2015, Holt became the permanent anchor of NBC Nightly News following the demotion of Brian Williams. 

Holt followed in the career footsteps of Max Robinson, an ABC News evening co-anchor. He became the first Black Male solo anchor for a major network newscast.

Lester Holt Career

Based on a 2018 poll, Holt was ranked as the most trusted TV news anchor in America. He was recognized for moderating the first presidential debate of 2016. Holt got praise for his role in fact checking false statements by The Washington post columnists. The ratings for NBC Nightly News dropped to second place after Holt became anchor. During Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams eras the evening news program was the ranked first for over 30 years.

In 2012, Holt told American Profile news magazine: “My first on-air job was actually as a disc jockey at a Country and Western station. The only time he could land a full-time gig is if he was willing to report the news.” Holt would keep the job with the radio station through his college years.

He worked for 19 years with CBS as a reporter, anchor and international correspondent. In 1981, he was hired as a reporter for WCBS-TV in New York City. He worked as a reporter and weekend anchor on KNXT in Los Angeles in 1982 and the following year he went back to WCBS-TV as a reporter and weekend anchor. He served 14 years in WBBM-TV in Chicago anchoring the evening news. In addition, Holt also reported extensively from troubled sports around the world such as Iraq, Northern Ireland, Somali, El Salvador and Haiti.

He joined MSNBC in 2000. Holt assumed full-time duties at NBC News and became a substitute anchor for NBC Nightly News and Today. Following the death of previous co-anchor David Bloom, he became a full-time co-anchor of Weekend Today. Holt also anchored a two-hour daily newscast on MSNBC until late 2005.

Lester Holt NBC

Furthermore, on May 9, 2007, he was named anchor of the weekend edition of NBC Nightly News. He anchored the show for eight years before replacing Brian Williams as the permanent anchor of the weekday edition.

Additionally, Holt is the current Host for NBC’s Dateline. In 2016 he moderated the presidential debate and also interviewed President Donald Trump in 2017. Fellow journalists said that he asked tough but appropriate questions.

Besides his primary responsibilities at NBC News, he also hosts a special for the History Channel about the 9/11 conspiracy theories. Holt also worked as a sportsdesk reporter for NBC Sports coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics. He is the host of Dateline on ID, an edition of Dateline NBC shown on the Investigation Discovery network. He narrated a documentary about actual crystal skulls on Sci-Fi Channel.

Holt filled in as a weekday anchor in 2013 when Brian Williams took medical leave for knee replacement surgery. Williams got suspended for reportedly exaggerating a story about the Iraq war in 2015. Holt permanently replaced him as NBC Nightly News anchor.

Holt interviewed President Trump in May 2017, and they discussed Trump’s firing of FBI director James Comey. His interview with Trump resulted in extensive media coverage.

Holt extensively covered the Covid -19 pandemic in 2020 and saw a spike in ratings alongside the other evening news shows. Holt announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 in an NBC News Special Report. He also interviewed Ebrahim Raisi, president of Iran in 2023.

Holt travelled to Israel in October 2023 to cover the Hamas attack on Israel and the on-going Israel-Hamas War. He co-moderated the third GOP Primary Debate alongside Hugh Hewitt and Kristen Walker on November 8 2023. The debate drew 7.5 million viewers.

Lester Holt Other Work

Holt made cameo appearances in the 1993 film The Fugitive , Its sequel U.S Marshals in 1998, and primal fear in 1996. In addition, he played himself in episodes of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and the episode “Red, White or Blue” of the series Due South. Holt appeared on the episode “Cleveland” of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. He did a voice-over in the episode “Sandwich Day” announcing that Jack Donaghy would be a new cabinet member in Bush Administration.

Holt announced the 2006,2007 and 2008 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show for the USA Network and was featured in Making Music Magazine. He was the host in the 2008 Sci-Fi Channel documentary Mystery of the Crystal Skulls. Holt delivered a virtual commencement speech for the 254th graduating class of Rutgers University due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lester Holt Age

He was born Lester Don Holt Jr. on March 8, 1959 at Hamilton Air Force Base, California . Lester is therefore 65 years old.

Lester Holt Height

He stands tall at 1.87m (6 feet 2 inches).

Lester Holt Education

He majored in government at California State University, Sacramento though he never graduated but received an honorary degree in 2015. Holt is also a recipient of honorary Doctorates in Humane Letters from both Rutgers University in 2020 and Villanova University in 2023.

Lester Holt Family

Holt was born at  Hamilton Air Force Base, Marin County, California on March 8, 1959. He was born to his parents June De Rozario and Lester Don Holt Sr. as the youngest child of four children. His father is an African American from Michigan with roots in Tennessee.

Holt’s maternal grandparents were born in Jamaica though his mother was born in Harlem, New York. His older brother, a disc jockey at a local radio station in Anchorage, Alaska introduced him to broadcasting..

Lester Holt Wife

Holt exchanged vows with his wife Carol Hagen 42 years ago.

Lester Holt Children

He is a father to two children Stefan and Cameron Holt.

Lester Holt Salary/ Net Worth

Holt is known for his work with NBC and Dateline and makes $10 million salary annually. He has a net worth of more than $35 million and is a household name across the nation.


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