Gayle King

Background

Well-known and well-regarded for her journalistic work as much as for her friend circle, American television personality Gayle King is one of the most influential celebrities of her time. Born on December 28, 1954, in Chevy Chase, Maryland, she is of African-American descent. She is the daughter of Scott King, an electronic engineer, and Peggy King, a homemaker. She is the oldest of four siblings and has three younger sisters. She spent several years of her childhood in Ankara, Turkey, where her father worked. When her family returned to the U.S., she enrolled at the University of Maryland, College Park, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. After graduating, King decided to pursue a career in media, and in 1976, began to work as a production assistant at W.J.Z.-T.V. in Baltimore. It was here that she met and befriended Oprah Winfrey, then an anchor for the station, and the two formed a lifelong friendship. Two years later, in 1978, King moved to Kansas City, Missouri, to work for W.D.A.F.-T.V. as a weekend anchor. In 1981, she moved again, this time to Hartford, Connecticut, working as a news anchor for W.F.S.B. The following year, she married Bill Bumpus, a local police officer.

While working for W.F.S.B., she began to venture into other career opportunities, the most notable of which was her work as a special correspondent for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 1986. In 1991, she co-hosted the N.B.C. daytime talk show, “Cover to Cover,” with Robin Wagner. In 1997, she was offered a syndicated talk show titled “The Gayle King Show.” Poor ratings, however, caused the show to be canceled after just one season. In 1999, she joined “O, The Oprah Magazine” as an editor. In 2006, she moved “The Gayle King Show” to radio and aired on X.M. Satellite Radio. This same show returned to T.V. in 2011 through the Oprah Winfrey Network. Later that year, C.B.S. offered her a morning television show alongside Charlie Rose which was called “C.B.S. This Morning,” and she was signed on to start in 2012. It was also in 2012 that she guested on the television show “30 Rock.” King reached a career milestone when she was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 2018 and “Time” magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2019. Then, in 2020, she began to host a weekly call-in radio show called “Gayle King in the House” on SiriusXM, a satellite radio provider. In 2022, she renewed her contract with C.B.S. to appear as co-host on the morning show, which had been renamed “C.B.S. Mornings.”

King is an influential personality who has received several awards for her work. In 2010, she was given the Matrix Award by New York Women in Communications. She has been nominated thrice for the Emmy Awards with the team of “C.B.S. This Morning” and has also been recognized for her contributions to Variety Power of Women: New York. Her close friendship with Winfrey and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has also grabbed many headlines. Nevertheless, the discussion of important issues in her shows makes her a popular figure among her fans who look forward to her new episodes.