Viewers of the late-night ABC news program Nightline in the early 2010s will remember Bill Weiren as the show’s co-host. The TV journalist, who has also worked as a sports director, actor and screenwriter, has distinguished himself from his peers and entered the record books for being the first American to broadcast from Tibet and for achieving a unprecedented underwater reporting from the Great Barrier Reef. Read on to know more about his career and other facts.
Biography of Bill Weir
Bill Weir was born William Francis Weir on December 19, 1967 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Details about his family, such as his parents’ names and occupations, are not known. However, it is known that his parents ended their marriage when he was still very young.
The story goes that Weir, who was raised alone by his devout Christian mother, attended 17 schools in six different states. The young man moved frequently from place to place because of his mother who had followed what she said were dreams of God in search of his true purpose.
He then graduated from high school, Victory Christian High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before enrolling at Oral Roberts University. His time here proved short, as he transferred to Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, where he earned degrees in journalism and creative writing.
Professional Achievements
In 1991, after graduating from college, Bill Weira found a job in Austin, Minnesota as a general reporter and weekend sportscaster for ABC-affiliate KAAL. He then joined FOX-affiliated television station WLUK in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he served as the sportscaster. By the mid-1990s, he was on the road again, this time to Chicago to anchor the WGN Morning News program. Bill spent about three years in this role before joining KABC-TV in Los Angeles in 1998 as a sportscaster. While here, he notably hosted the popular weekly Monday Night Live program that aired after Monday Night Football.
Between 2002 and 2004, Bill Weir took two years off anchoring news or sports programming. During this time he developed, wrote and hosted a number of TV pilots for a few networks. In 2004, however, he made a comeback joining ABC News where he covered breaking news and global trends.
Some notable stories and events he has covered During this period include the economic rise of China and India, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the war in Afghanistan, launches and landings of the space shuttle and an underwater live report from the Great Barrier Reef. He also became the first American to broadcast live from Tibet.
In 2010, after anchoring the short-lived ABC News magazine titled I caught Weir was named to replace British journalist Martin Bashir is the third co-presenter of nightly news show Nightline alongside Terry Morgan and Cynthia McFadden . He worked until October 2013, when he joined CNN as an anchor and chief innovation correspondent. Two years after joining the network, he had his own show, an original documentary television series called The List of Wonders starring Bill Weir
Other facts to know
Marriage and family
Bill Weir was previously married to a Brooklyn, New York-based attorney Alisha Weir. It’s unclear exactly when the two marital vows were exchanged, but they reportedly dated for around a decade before breaking up for a bit in 2016. During their time together, the couple had a daughter they named Olivia.
After the divorce, Weir began a relationship with a woman identified as Kelly Dowd. The two have been seen together at various events and also like to share pictures of themselves on their social media.
Body measurements
Bill is as tall as the average American male, standing at a height of 178 cm (5 feet). Although his weight and measurements are unknown, the TV reporter has blonde hair and brown eyes.
Salary and net worth
Although Bill Weir is not one of the first names that comes to mind when talking about journalists, he still managed to make a good living from his profession. According to various celebrity wealth calculation sources, Bill Weir has an estimated net worth of $3 million. His salary would be around $750,000 a year.
