Rudi Bakhtiar Biography
Rudi Bakhtiar is a seasoned Iranian-American journalist and television producer, known for her rich background in international reporting and broadcast news. She made her mark as a producer for Reuters in Washington, D.C., and gained recognition as an anchor on CNN Headline News Tonight. Her impressive resume also includes roles with Anderson Cooper 360, Voice of America, and Reuters News.
Rudi Bakhtiar Age
Bakhtiar is 59 years old as of 2026. She was born Rudabeh Carleen Bakhtiar on 21 June 1966 in Fresno, California, United States.
Rudi Bakhtiar Family
Bakhtiar was born in Iran to Iranian immigrants of Bakhtiari ancestry. Her father died in 2005 from oropharyngeal cancer. Bakhtiar has two younger siblings: a brother and a sister. Shapour Bakhtiar, Rudi Bakhtiar’s father’s uncle, was Iran’s last prime minister under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi; Bakhtiar’s great aunt was the Shah of Iran’s second wife (Soraya Esfandiary). Sardar Jang is Bakhtiar’s great-name. grandfather’s
Her family relocated from Fresno to Los Angeles when she was two years old. Her family returned to Iran when she was five years old, where she was raised until the 1979 Iranian Revolution. When she was 17, her family returned to the United States. She used to enjoy riding horses as a child.
Rudi Bakhtiar Husband
Bakhtiar hasn’t revealed any information about her husband or children. We’re looking into her dating life and will update the information as soon as we have more information.
Rudi Bakhtiar Education
Bakhtiar studied biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1990, intending to become a dentist. She was accepted to New York University Dental School, but she had reservations about attending. She also studied architecture at the Harvard School of Design’s Career Discovery Program.
Rudi Bakhtiar Salary
Bakhtiar earns an annual salary of $ 133,774.
Rudi Bakhtiar Net Worth
Bakhtiar has an estimated net worth of $1 million.
Rudi Bakhtiar CNN
Bakhtiar joined CNN back in 1996 and dedicated nearly ten years to the network, taking on various on-air and reporting roles. During her time there, she anchored CNN Headline News Tonight, co-anchored the Emmy-nominated CNN Newsroom, and served as a committed correspondent for Anderson Cooper 360. Her international reporting took her to diverse locations across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, covering stories from countries like Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Africa, Iran, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. Notably, she was one of the anchors who helped launch CNN Headline News’ coverage of the tragic September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. After nearly a decade in cable news, Bakhtiar decided to leave CNN to care for her terminally ill father.
Fox News Channel
In January 2006, she made a move to Fox News Channel as a general assignment correspondent. There, she reported on significant global events, including the September 2006 summit in Tehran between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, as well as the trial and execution of Saddam Hussein later that same year. However, in 2007, her contract with Fox News was terminated after she filed a complaint of sexual harassment against then–Washington bureau chief Brian Wilson.
Public Relations Director
In 2008, Bakhtiar made a significant shift into public affairs, stepping in as the first public relations director for the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans. This organization is dedicated to amplifying the voices of Iranian Americans in the public sphere. During her time there, she not only created and produced a series of short documentaries called Profiles of Iranian Americans, which showcased the achievements of community members, but also developed the organization’s flagship event, Passing the Torch of Success. However, she eventually left the organization due to internal disagreements that arose from her vocal opposition to human rights abuses in Iran.
Fast forward to May 2011, Bakhtiar took the stand before a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee to address Iran’s human rights crisis. In her powerful testimony, she pointed out that under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s rule, Iran had become one of the most notorious violators of human rights globally, highlighting numerous violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Documentary
Later on, Bakhtiar worked on an incomplete documentary about Turkey, which was in the works following the failed coup attempt in 2016, just before Michael Flynn was appointed as the U.S. National Security Advisor. This project was reportedly backed by a Turkish businessman through the Flynn Intel Group. Bakhtiar expressed her concerns that the documentary was unbalanced and seemed aimed at discrediting Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, who President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused of masterminding the coup and sought to extradite from the U.S. Interestingly, while she initially claimed in June 2017 that she hadn’t been approached by investigators looking into Flynn’s activities, the situation was quite complex.reports later confirmed that FBI agents had reached out to her by November 2017.
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