Kristen Welker Biography and Wiki
Kristen Welker is an American television journalist with NBC News. Based in Washington, D.C., she has served as a White House correspondent and co-anchored Weekend Today alongside Peter Alexander from 2020 to 2023. On September 17, 2023, she made history by becoming the host of Meet the Press, the longest-running television program.
Kristen Education
Kristen attended and graduated from Germantown Friends School. She then attended and graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor’s Degree in American history.
Kristen Welker Age and Birthday
How old is Kristen? Welker is 48 years old as of 2024. She was born on July 1, 1976, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America. She celebrates her birthday on the 1st of July every year. RELATED: Kylen Mills
Kristen Welker Nationality and Ethnicity
Kristen holds American nationality and citizenship by birth. She was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Her father is white while her mother is black. She comes from a mixed ethnicity of white and black
Kristen Welker Height and Weight
Welker is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 143 lbs (65 kg).
Kristen Welker Parents
Welker is the daughter of Harvey(Father) and Julie Welker (Mother). Her father, Harvey, is an engineer, while her mother, Julie, works as a real estate agent. Kristen comes from a diverse background, with her father being White and her mother being Black.
Kristen Welker Husband and Wedding
Is Kristen married? Kristen is happily married to her husband John Hughes, a marketing director at Merck in Philadelphia. The couple got married through a private wedding ceremony on March 4, 2017, at the Hyatt at the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia. The wedding took place in the presence of both groom’s parents and friends. Kristen’s colleagues from NBC also attended the ceremony including Mr. Alexander, Kelly O’Donnell, Chuck Todd, Pete Williams, and Andrea Mitchell.
Welker Career
She began her journalism career at ABC affiliates WLNE-TV in Providence, Rhode Island, and KRCR-TV in Redding/Chico, California. In 2005, she joined NBC at its Philadelphia affiliate, WCAU, where she worked as a reporter and weekend anchor. By 2010, she transitioned to NBC News as a correspondent based at their West Coast headquarters in Burbank, California. In December 2011, Welker became an NBC White House correspondent.
During her tenure, Welker regularly represented MSNBC at daily White House press briefings and delivered live reports for various network programs. She also occasionally substituted on NBC Nightly News and Today. On January 10, 2020, NBC announced Welker would become the regular co-anchor of Weekend Today alongside Peter Alexander, officially debuting the following day.
On October 22, 2020, Welker moderated the final debate of the 2020 presidential election between President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, receiving widespread praise for her composure and effectiveness.
In June 2023, NBC announced that Welker would succeed Chuck Todd as the host of Meet the Press, with her tenure starting on September 17, 2023. She also began hosting the weekday spin-off, Meet the Press Now, on NBC News NOW on September 22, 2023. Her debut episode featured an interview with former President Donald Trump, which drew mixed reactions, with some critics questioning her approach to addressing Trump’s contested claims.
On November 8, 2023, Welker co-moderated the third GOP primary debate for the 2024 election alongside Lester Holt and Hugh Hewitt in Miami, Florida. The debate opened with presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy accusing her of being part of the “corrupt media establishment” and referencing the “Trump-Russia collusion hoax.” Welker responded with grace, smiling and allowing her co-moderator to move the discussion forward.
Kristen Welker NBC | MSNBC
Welker joined NBC News in May 2011 as the political White House correspondent. Her political reporting is displayed across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms, including “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt,” “TODAY,” “Meet the Press,” and NBCNews.com.
Welker’s energetic questioning in White House press briefings is regularly featured by other outlets, including a recent interview with Press Secretary Sean Spicer about the administration’s use of the word “ban” in reference to its executive order on immigration.
In 2016, Welker covered and reported political decisions for NBC News from the trail of former Sec. Hillary Clinton’s campaign. She regularly broke revelations like Vice President Joe Biden’s decision not to run for office where she was recognized by Glamour magazine as a “key player” of the “women of Election 2016.” RELATED: Hal Linden
Welker started covering the White House for NBC News in December 2011, voyaging locally and Internationally with President Obama, the First Lady, and Biden. She was “a lead source on feature snatching minutes from finance tax breaks to FLOTUS’s first universal performance trip, to South Africa,” according to Washingtonian magazine.
Before working as the White House correspondent, Welker served as a network correspondent based in Burbank, California in 2010. In her first year at the network, Welker was appointed for a national Emmy Award for her role in NBC News’ midterm election coverage. She previously served as a weekend news anchor and reporter at WCAU-TV, NBC’s Philadelphia-owned and operated station in April 2005. She also previously worked at WLNE-TV in Providence, Rhode Island, and KRCR-TV in Redding, California.
Kristen Welker Salary
Kristen as the NBC News correspondent earns an estimated salary ranging from $81.680 to $118.036 per year.
Kristen Welker Net Worth
Welker as an accomplished journalist has an estimated salary of $3.1 million.
Kristen Welker Facts
- Full Name: Kristen Welker
- Age: 47 years old as of 2023
- Date of Birth: July 1, 1976
- Place of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Parents: Harvey Welker and (mother) Julie Welker
- Spouse: John Hughes
- Height: 5 feet 10 inches (1.8 m)
- Education: Germantown Friends School and Harvard University
