Lester Holt Biography
Lester Holt is a well-known American journalist who has made a name for himself as the anchor of the weekday edition of NBC Nightly News, as well as the NBC Nightly News: Kids Edition. He currently hosts Dateline NBC.
On June 18, 2015, he was officially named the permanent anchor of NBC Nightly News after Brian Williams was demoted. In doing so, he followed in the footsteps of Max Robinson, co-anchor at ABC News, and made history as the first Black male solo anchor of a major network evening newscast.
In a 2018 poll, Holt was recognized as the most trusted television news anchor in the United States. He also took on the role of moderator for the first presidential debate of the 2016 election, which received mixed reviews—he was praised for his fact-checking of false statements but faced criticism for struggling to keep strict time limits and control the debate. While NBC Nightly News had enjoyed the top spot in evening newscast ratings for over thirty years during the Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams eras, the program fell to second place in the ratings during Holt’s time as anchor.
On May 30, 2025, Holt decided to step down from NBC Nightly News after nearly a decade in the anchor chair to take on the full-time role of host for NBC’s newsmagazine program, Dateline.
Lester Holt Age
Holt is 66 years old as of 2025. He was born Lester Don Holt Jr. on 8 March 1959 in Marin County, California, United States.
Lester Holt Height
Holt stands at a height of 6 feet 1 inch (1.87 m).
Lester Holt Family
June (DeRozario) and Lester Don Holt Sr. had four children, and Holt was the youngest of them. His maternal grandparents were born in the Caribbean island of Jamaica. Canute DeRozario, his maternal grandfather, was one of 14 children born to an Indo-Jamaican father from Calcutta, India, and an English-born White Jamaican mother. May, his maternal grandmother, was born in Jamaica but raised in Harlem, New York, the same city as his mother. His father was a black man from Michigan who had ties to Tennessee.
Lester Holt Wife
Holt is married to Carol Hagen. The couple lives in Manhattan with their two boys, Stefan and Cameron.
Lester Holt wife Ethnicity
Holt’s wife ethnicity is Caucasian-white. She is an American citizen because she was born in Seattle, Washington.
Sons
Lester Holt is a proud dad of two sons, and his eldest, Stefan Holt, has really followed in his father’s footsteps in the broadcast journalism arena. Born in 1987 in Chicago, Stefan grew up immersed in his dad’s news career. After earning his degree from Pepperdine University, he kicked off his career in local news before making his way to NBC-owned stations, including WNBC in New York. Now, he’s a news anchor at NBC 5 in Chicago, where he not only anchors the evening newscasts but also raises his own family with his wife, Morgan Holt, and their three sons. Stefan often shares how much his father has shaped both his career and his approach to being a dad.
On the other hand, Holt’s younger son, Cameron Holt, who was born in 1990, has chosen a different route. After graduating from Stanford University, Cameron dove into the finance world and now serves as an executive director at Morgan Stanley in New York City. He tends to keep a lower profile compared to his brother, but he’s always been there to support his dad’s career, even surprising Lester on-air during some significant moments at NBC.
Lester Holt describes both of his sons as “solid, good men” and a tremendous source of pride, especially noting how Stefan’s work in journalism reflects his own legacy in the news industry.
Lester Holt Education
He graduated from Rancho Cordova High School in 1977 and attended California State University, Sacramento, where he majored in government but never graduated.
Lester Holt Salary
Holt earned an annual salary of $10 Million.
Lester Holt Net Worth
Holt has an estimated net worth of $35 Million.
Lester Holt Dateline NBC
Lester Holt is a well-known American journalist who has made a name for himself as the anchor of the weekday edition of NBC Nightly News, as well as the NBC Nightly News: Kids Edition. He currently hosts Dateline NBC. On June 18, 2015, he was officially named the permanent anchor of NBC Nightly News after Brian Williams was demoted. In doing so, he followed in the footsteps of Max Robinson, co-anchor at ABC News, and made history as the first Black male solo anchor of a major network evening newscast.
In a 2018 poll, Holt was recognized as the most trusted television news anchor in the United States. He also took on the role of moderator for the first presidential debate of the 2016 election, which received mixed reviews—he was praised for his fact-checking of false statements but faced criticism for struggling to keep strict time limits and control the debate. While NBC Nightly News had enjoyed the top spot in evening newscast ratings for over thirty years during the Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams eras, the program fell to second place in the ratings during Holt’s time as anchor.
On May 30, 2025, Holt decided to step down from NBC Nightly News after nearly a decade in the anchor chair to take on the full-time role of host for NBC’s newsmagazine program, Dateline.
Lester Holt Career
Holt was a reporter, anchor, and overseas correspondent for CBS for 19 years. He began his career as a reporter for WCBS-TV in New York City in 1981. In 1982, he joined KNXT in Los Angeles as a reporter and weekend anchor, and the following year, he returned to WCBS-TV as a reporter and weekend anchor. Holt moved to WBBM-TV in Chicago in 1986, where he anchors the evening news for 14 years. Holt not only worked at the anchor desk, but also traveled throughout the world, reporting from places including Iraq, Northern Ireland, Somalia, El Salvador, and Haiti.
In the year 2000, Holt joined MSNBC.He began working full-time at NBC News in 2003, where he served as a replacement anchor for NBC Nightly News and Today. Following the death of previous co-anchor David Bloom, Holt became a full-time co-anchor of Weekend Today. He also hosted a two-hour daily newscast on MSNBC until late 2005. Holt was named the weekend anchor of NBC Nightly News on May 9, 2007, and anchored the show for eight years before being replaced by Brian Williams as the permanent anchor of the weekday edition. Holt also serves as the current host of NBC’s Dateline. In 2016, he moderated a presidential debate, and in 2017, he interviewed President Donald Trump, who stated he posed tough but necessary questions.
In addition to his primary duties at NBC News, he has hosted a special for The History Channel about 9/11 conspiracy theories, worked as a sportsdesk reporter for NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics, and is the host of Dateline on ID, an Investigation Discovery network edition of Dateline NBC. On the Sci-Fi Channel in 2008, he narrated a documentary about real crystal skulls.
Holt took over as weekday anchor when Brian Williams went on medical leave in 2013 for knee replacement surgery. Williams was fired from NBC Nightly News in 2015 for allegedly embellishing a story on the Iraq War, and Holt took over as the anchor. Holt moderated the Democratic presidential candidates’ debate in January 2016, as well as the first presidential debate on September 26, 2016, with a panel of NBC political reporters.
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