First Gorkha CNN News Anchor Kiran Chetry

Kiran Carrie Chetry (born August 26, 1974) is a Nepali-born American TV broadcast journalist anchor who, until 2011, was a cable news anchor for CNN's early morning program. From 2001 to 2007 she reported – and then anchored – cable news at Fox News. She is currently not working as a journalist. Kiran (Sanskrit: किरण, kiraņ) means "ray of light". Chetry (Nepali: छेत्री, Chhetrĩ) refers to the large traditional caste of rulers and soldiers among Hindus in the Middle Hills of Nepal. Kiran's father Hom Chetry belongs to this caste and uses it as his surname. Kiran's mother Nancy is of Ukrainian, Dutch and German ancestry. The couple met while Nancy was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal.

Kiran was born in Patan Hospital (Shanta Bhawan), Kathmandu, Nepal. Seven months later her parents moved their new family to the United States. Kiran grew up in Gaithersburg, Maryland and attended Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, where she served in student government, danced on the pom squad,and competed on the swim team.Upon graduation she enrolled at the University of Maryland, College Park's College of Journalism, where she joined the Alpha Pi chapter of Delta Delta Delta sorority and received her bachelor of arts in broadcast journalism.

Family
Chetry is married to Chris Knowles, a former Fox News Channel and erstwhile New York City WPIX-TV weekend weatherman.On February 8, 2006, Chetry gave birth to their 6 lb. 10oz. daughter, Maya Rose. (Chetry has included her in special segments on Fox & Friends and American Morning.) On October 24, 2007, Chetry announced that she and Knowles were expecting their second child in an exclusive interview published by People magazine: Kiran gave birth to their first son, Christopher Chetry Knowles, on April 17, 2008 at 10:45pm weighing 7 pounds.

Career
Chetry began her career in 1995 at News 21 in Rockville, Maryland. The next year she moved to WICU-TV in Erie, Pennsylvania, where she was the main anchor and health reporter. (She met her future husband Chris Knowles there who was the prime time news anchor.) She received the Best Enterprise Reporting award from the Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcasters Association in 1997 for her series "Young and Hooked," which looked at teen smoking. In 1999 Chetry went from WICU-TV to KXTV in Sacramento, California to work as a morning anchor and reporter until joining Fox News Channel.

In 2001 Chetry joined the cable news network Fox News Channel as a general reporter, first appearing on March 8, 2001, in a story about eating ice cream. The next year Chetry was honored with the Making our Mark (MOM) Award from the Association of Nepalis in the Americas.During her time at Fox News, she worked as a rotating anchor for Fox News Live and the early morning news program Fox & Friends First. In late 2005, she became a regular co-host on the network's weekend morning news program, Fox & Friends Weekend.

In early 2007, as Chetry's contract with Fox News neared the end of its term, the network negotiated with Chetry's agent to renew her contract. Her contract was expected to be renewed with her continuing to co-host Fox & Friends Weekend. However, talks ended when Fox News claimed in a February 15, 2007, letter to Chetry's agent, that Chetry had demanded "that Fox News include a clause in her new agreement that would have been detrimental to other Fox News Talent." The cable news network added that it would not renew her contract and that she was free to leave before the expiration of her contract: Chetry exercised that option. Allegedly, Chetry wanted a clause in her contract that would have had Gretchen Carlson, a co-anchor of Fox & Friends, fired.Chetry's agent countered that the allegation of Chetry's wanting Carlson fired was "absolutely false". Another source said that the clause in question merely requested a written clarification of whether Chetry would become a "Fox & Friends" co-host and, if so, when. If that were not to happen by a certain date, then Chetry would have a window to exit her new contract.

Reportedly, CNN signed Chetry within an hour of her release from the Fox News Channel. After the deal had been inked, Chetry stated, "CNN is the gold standard when it comes to journalism, and I am thrilled to be part of the team." On February 16, 2007, Chetry began work as a CNN anchor and correspondent. That very day she served as a co-host on American Morning in the morning, and anchored Anderson Cooper 360 that evening. She went on to substitute as an anchor for Paula Zahn Now and CNN Newsroom.

On April 4, 2007, CNN's President Jonathan Klein officially announced Chetry as the new co-anchor. Her first American Morning broadcast was on April 16, 2007, the same day as the Virginia Tech Massacre. Initially, Chetry co-hosted from New York whereas John Roberts did so from Washington: eventually both generally co-anchored from CNN's New York bureau. John Roberts later left CNN to become an Atlanta-based correspondent for FOX News Channel. In addition to her American Morning duties, Chetry co-hosted with Roberts two CNN prime-time previews of the 2007 YouTube Democratic debate and the 01/07/08 CNN Election Center analysis of the post Michigan-primary presidential race. Moreover, she served as the iParty correspondent on CNN's 2008 New Year's Eve Live with Anderson Cooper.

Kiran's last day on American Morning and at CNN was July 29, 2011.

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