Andrea Mitchell is an American television journalist, anchor, and commentator for NBC News, based in Washington, D.C. She is NBC News’ chief foreign affairs and chief Washington correspondent.
๐ค Career Milestones
Mitchell anchored Andrea Mitchell Reports on MSNBC from 2008 to 2025. She announced on October 29, 2024, that she would leave the full-time anchor chair in early 2025, stepping down on February 7, 2025.
She will remain in her role as chief foreign affairs correspondent. In 2019, Mitchell earned a Lifetime Achievement Emmy for her journalistic work.
๐จโ๐ฉโ๐งโ๐ฆ Family Background
Mitchell was raised in a Jewish family from New Rochelle, New York. Her father was the CEO and partial owner of a furniture manufacturing company and president of Beth El Synagogue for 40 years.
Her mother was an administrator at the New York Institute of Technology. Her brother Arthur moved to British Columbia and became a member of the Legislative Assembly of Yukon.
๐ Education and Early Career
Mitchell graduated from New Rochelle High School and received a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania in 1967. While at Penn, she served as news director of student radio station WXPN.
After graduation, she was hired as a reporter at KYW radio in Philadelphia. She rose to prominence as the station’s City Hall correspondent during Mayor Frank Rizzo’s administration.
๐บ NBC News Tenure
Mitchell moved to NBC’s network news operation in 1978. She served as chief White House correspondent from 1993 to 1994 and chief Congressional correspondent from 1988 to 1992.
She has been chief foreign affairs correspondent since November 1994. In 2005, her memoir, Talking Back… to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels, was published.
โ๏ธ Controversies and Incidents
A Washington Post report stated Mitchell had leaked Valerie Plame’s identity, leading to her being questioned by the FBI. In October 2003, Mitchell said she was not aware of Plame’s covert role until Bob Novak wrote it.
In July 2005, Mitchell was forcibly ejected from a news conference in Khartoum after asking Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir pointed questions about violence in Darfur. In June 2008, she referred to voters in southwest Virginia as “rednecks” and apologized on air.
In February 2019, Mitchell characterized the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising as being against “the Polish and Nazi regimes” and apologized on Twitter. The Polish Institute of National Remembrance sued her in Polish court.
๐ Personal Life
Mitchell married her second husband, then Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, on April 6, 1997. She was previously married to Gil Jackson; that marriage ended in divorce in the mid-1970s.
On September 7, 2011, Mitchell revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, which was caught early and treated. In 2017, Mitchell and Greenspan endowed the University of Pennsylvania with the “Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy.” Greenspan died on June 22, 2026, due to complications from Parkinson’s disease.
| Category | Detail | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | Born October 30, 1946 | 1946 | [2] |
| Education | BA in English literature, University of Pennsylvania | 1967 | [7] |
| Career Start | Reporter at KYW radio, Philadelphia | 1967 | [7] |
| NBC News | Joined NBC’s network news operation | 1978 | [8] |
| Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Appointed to role | 1994 | [9] |
| Marriage | Married Alan Greenspan | 1997 | [5] |
| Memoir | Talking Back… to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels | 2005 | [8] |
| Lifetime Achievement Emmy | Awarded for journalistic work | 2019 | [3] |
| Breast Cancer Diagnosis | Revealed diagnosis, caught early and treated | 2011 | [25] |
| Andrea Mitchell Center | Endowed at University of Pennsylvania | 2017 | [26] |
| Left Anchor Chair | Stepped down from Andrea Mitchell Reports | 2025 | [10] |
| Greenspan’s Death | Alan Greenspan died due to Parkinson’s complications | 2026 | [27] |