Elizabeth Vargas Net Worth: The ‘20/20’ Anchor Who Made Millions
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What is Elizabeth Vargas Net Worth?
Elizabeth Vargas net worth is US$ 6 Million as of Jan 2023.
| Net Worth | US$ 6 Million |
| Full Name | Elizabeth Anne Vargas |
| Born | September 6, 1962 (62 Years) |
| Gender | Female |
| Height | 5′ 6″ |
| Horoscope | Virgo |
| Country of Origin | Paterson, New Jersey, United States |
| Occupation | TV Journalist, Actor, Screenwriter, Newscaster |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
| Spouse | Marc Cohn (m. 2002–2014) |
| Children | Zachary Raphael Cohn, Samuel Wyatt Cohn |
| Famous for | Co-anchor of ABC World News Tonight, Co-anchor for 20/20, and Host of America’s Most Wanted (2021) |
Table of Contents
Biography
Elizabeth Vargas, a renowned anchor, and journalist, has traversed the globe to cover breaking news topics, report on in-depth investigations, and interview newsmakers. The New York Times lauded Vargas, who currently co-anchors ABC’s 20/20 with David Muir, for revitalizing the newsmagazine format with her “intellectually bold” reporting. She provided substantial coverage from Baghdad for World News Tonight during the historic Iraqi elections in December 2005, covering both civilian life and American military engagement. She interviewed foreign leaders in the White House’s Oval Office, including President Bush.
Vargas has also served as the anchor for ABC News’ live coverage of breaking news events, such as Presidents Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s passing and the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. Gulf Coast. For directing the live coverage of the Elian Gonzalez case, Vargas was awarded an Emmy in 2000 for Outstanding Instant Coverage of a News Story. Vargas has also interviewed a wide range of celebrities, from actors and musicians to business leaders and authors, including Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Skoll, Sheryl Crow, Madonna, Johnny Depp, Hugh Hefner, Jessica Simpson, Mick Jagger, Drew Barrymore, Dan Brown, Alanis Morissette, and Cat Stevens.
In September 2016, Vargas’s memoir Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction was released by Grand Central Publishing. The book details her struggles with anxiety and alcohol and tells a powerful story of healing and coping. A special episode of 20/20 aired in conjunction with the book’s release. Vargas and Diane Sawyer discussed Vargas’ experiences, reported on the link between anxiety and alcohol abuse, and interviewed both addiction experts and those recovering from addiction.
Timeline
Early Life
Elizabeth’s father, Rafael Vargas, a Spanish-Italian from Puerto Rico who worked as a colonel in the United States Army, and mother, Anne Vargas, a native-born Irish-American, was an irregular English teacher. Elizabeth Anne Vargas was born in Paterson, New Jersey. Her sister Amy and brother Christopher are both Silicon Valley-based IT professionals. When she was four years old, her father, a captain in the American army, was relocated to Okinawa along with his family. After that, Vargas’ young age was spent transferring between posts in Belgium, Germany, and the United States.
In Heidelberg, Vargas went to high school, where she discovered her love for the news. In 1980, Vargas attended the University of Missouri in Columbia. Being a student, she worked as a newswoman at KOMU-TV and a desk woman at KBIA. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the university in 1984. Rod Gelatt, a former KOMU news director, noticed her as she became the foremost student to step in as speaker of the station’s program Missouri Forum public affairs, and the chairman of the university’s journalism faculty Kent Collins, recollected her “aggressive and energetic” diligence.
Former advisors spoke highly of her competence in her journalism work on campus. Elizabeth started working as a reporter and Saturday anchor for KTVN-TV. She was the lead reporter from 1986 to 1989 for the ABC affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona, KTVK-TV. Elizabeth was a reporter/anchor from 1989 to 1993 for a CBS affiliate in Chicago, IL, WBBM-TV
Career
1984–1993: At the beginning of her career, Vargas served as the leading reporter for KTVK-TV, the then-ABC station, in Phoenix after finishing college. Before that, she worked at Reno’s CBS affiliate KTVN. After working there for three years, she relocated to Chicago to work for CBS station WBBM-TV. The senior vice president at ABC, Phyllis McGrady, praised her for being “amongst the versatile talents I’ve ever worked with.” Vargas could conduct interviews, create thought-provoking hour-long programs, and then hold a fantastic interview with P. Diddy. She is adaptable. In 1993, Vargas departed WBBM-TV. As a contributor for Now with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric, Vargas joined NBC News in 1993.
Later on, she started working mainly as a journalist for Dateline NBC. She also became an announcer for Today and NBC Nightly News weekend versions. She began working for ABC News’ Good Morning America in June 1996 as the commentator and the “heir apparent” to Joan Lunden. ABC promoted Vargas to the reporter for a prime-time magazine show in June 1997. Kevin Newman took Vargas’ place as the newsreader. She joined the cast of 20/20 Downtown in 2002 and eventually served as one of its anchors. The show then changed its name to Downtown and, just before it ended in 2003, to Primetime Monday. She started reporting for Primetime rarely. She was also allowed to create specials for Primetime and was appointed as the anchor of World News Tonight on Saturday. Vargas took over as the Sunday host of World News Tonight in November 2003.
In May 2004, she was chosen as co-anchor of 20/20. Since Connie Chung and Barbara Walters, Vargas was the third woman to anchor a network evening broadcast in the U.S. Vargas was the first Puerto Rican and Irish-American national news anchor. According to reports, she is alleged to be “particularly proud” of an ABC special broadcast in which she questioned why the Laci Peterson case received more attention than two similar incidents involving black and Hispanic women. A different tale inspired by the novel The Da Vinci Code and the character of Mary Magdalene sparked a heated national religious controversy. Vargas claimed that despite the evidence, the church has always depicted Mary Magdalene as a courtesan.
Vargas continued by raising concerns about the limited position of women in the churches for the Catholics. She received an Emmy nomination for her 20/20 investigation into Betty Tyson’s unjust conviction, for which she later won an Emmy Award in 1999 for her coverage of the Elián González case. Peter Jennings was temporarily replaced by Vargas and Charles Gibson on World News Tonight from April 2005 until Jennings passed away in August while undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer.
On December 5, 2005, as co-anchors, she and Bob Woodruff were picked after grief and deliberation. In January 2006, after Woodruff was injured in Iraq, Elizabeth hosted many shows alone. Charles Gibson or Diane Sawyer and Elizabeth co-anchored World News Tonight. In 2013, Vargas received a Peabody Award for her efforts in ABC News’ coverage of Hurricane Sandy on 20/20. Vargas discussed her battles with anxiety and alcoholism in a significant 20/20 episode broadcast on September 9, 2016. She also discussed her new book Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction, which covers her battles. She appeared in an episode of Designated Survivor on ABC in October 2016. Vargas announced her departure from ABC News in May 2018 on December 22, 2017. After dedicating herself on 20/20, she formally left ABC on May 25.
Favorite Quotes from Elizabeth Vargas
“I worked in three local news markets, and in every single one of them, they said: ‘You’re a lousy anchor. We would love to renew your contract and have you be our lead reporter here, but we’re not going to have you, anchor.”
– Elizabeth Vargas
“I think there’s nothing better in the world than a spirited discussion about the Bible and Jesus and God and the Catholic faith, or the Jewish faith, or the Muslim faith any religion.”
– Elizabeth Vargas
“For now, for this year, I need to be a good mother.”
– Elizabeth Vargas
“I am not a pregnant working mother wronged.”
– Elizabeth Vargas
“It’s estimated that one million girls in India ‘disappear’ every year.”
– Elizabeth Vargas
“We’re way overdue on a woman sitting in one of those Big Three chairs.”
– Elizabeth Vargas
“It’s exciting and great journalism for us to be out there reporting.”
– Elizabeth Vargas
Frequently Asked Questions
Elizabeth Vargas has still been on television, but not in quite the same way, working as a documentary anchor for A&E.
The net worth of Elizabeth Vargas is US$ 6 Million as of Jan 2023.
As of Jan 2023, Elizabeth Vargas is 60 years old.
Summary
Elizabeth Ann Vargas (born September 6, 1962) is an American television journalist who is best known for her multiple appearances as an anchor and correspondent for ABC News, notably as co-anchor of the network’s news magazine 20/20 and as the lead correspondent of ABC’s celebrity news magazine show, Primetime. Additionally, she has hosted several reality and documentary series on A&E networks since 2014. Vargas graduated from the University of Missouri and began her career at KMOV-TV in St. Louis, Missouri in 1987. She then moved to WFSB-TV in Hartford, Connecticut in 1989. Two years later, Vargas moved to WBBM-TV in Chicago, Illinois, where she became the weekday and noon anchor.
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