In honor of Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month, we continue to recognize the economic, cultural, political, and social contributions of notable immigrants and refugees who’ve helped shape America’s vibrant tapestry. Today, we highlight Betty Nguyen, an award-winning Vietnamese American news anchor.
Betty Nguyen was born in September 1974 in Saigon, South Vietnam. Her father served in the United States military, and her mother was a Vietnamese college student. In April 1975, during the Fall of Saigon, the family fled the country and immigrated to Texas. Nguyen was raised in Fort Worth and earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen at the age of six in 1980.
Nguyen’s journalism career began as a reporter and morning anchor for KWTX-TV in Waco, Texas, before moving on to anchor at KTVT-TV in Fort Worth. While there, she covered the 2002 Columbia space shuttle disaster, one of NASA’s most tragic missions.
In January 2007, Nguyen hosted the gala for the Smithsonian’s Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon exhibition at the S. Dillon Ripley Center. The event honored her as the first Vietnamese American to anchor a national television news broadcast in the United States.
Nguyen later joined CNN, where she anchored the weekend edition of CNN Newsroom. During her time there, she covered major international and national events, including the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, the Virginia Tech shooting, and an undercover report in Myanmar that exposed the lack of aid following Cyclone Nargis, which killed over 140,000 people.
In 2010, Nguyen joined CBS as the anchor of CBS Morning News, a correspondent for The Early Show, and anchor of CBS This Morning Saturday. There, she covered a range of national stories, including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Arizona immigration law debate, and major weather events including blizzards and hurricanes. She also occasionally appeared as a special correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, covering celebrity news and high-profile events such as the Academy Awards.
In 2013, Betty left for NBC, where she anchored Early Today and contributed as a correspondent for the Today Show.
These days, Betty Nguyen is the morning news co-anchor for CBS-owned WFOR in Miami. She is also the co-founder of Help the Hungry, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting those in need.
Check back throughout May for additional features in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
