Christiane Amanpour. A Fighter for Freedom of Speech at CNN

Photo: Dean Calma/IAEA, IAEA Imagebank, CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia

The role of women in the Muslim world has been known for centuries. However, modern times and technology are bringing changes to the lives of Arab, Iranian, and Afghan women. This is not a fast process. Often, after taking two steps forward, they must take three steps back, but their worldview is gradually evolving. They are beginning to fight for themselves.

On the surface, life seems easier for women born or raised in countries with a different culture, where democracy is upheld, and the economy is thriving. Here, it is easier to focus on personal development, education, political views, or breaking barriers. And while women worldwide often face discrimination compared to men, Muslim women have even greater mountains to climb.

One person well aware of this reality is Christiane Maria Heideh Amanpour, an Iranian-British journalist and CNN anchor. She was born on January 12, 1958, into a Muslim-Catholic family in the suburbs of London. Her father, Mohammad Tagh Amanpour, was a Shia Muslim from Tehran and the director of Iranian Airlines. Her mother, Patricia Anne Hill, was a Catholic.


After her birth, the family moved to Iran, where young Christiane grew up and attended primary school. When she turned 11, her parents sent her and her three sisters to the United Kingdom for further education. She attended a girls` school in Chalfont Saint Peter and later New Hall School in Chelmsford.

Journalism Studies in Place of Her Sister

It is uncertain how her life would have unfolded if not for the outbreak of the Islamic Revolution, particularly the Iran-Iraq War. Because of this, she did not return to her parents, who instead emigrated to the UK. Aware of the situation in her father`s homeland, the 22-year-old decided to study journalism, though the decision had an unusual origin.

One of her sisters had enrolled in journalism studies in London but soon changed her mind. Since the university refused to refund the tuition, Christiane took her sister’s place. When her parents, having left everything behind, settled in the UK, Christiane made a decision - she would become a journalist. "If events influenced me, I wanted to be part of them." she later recalled.

After studying in London, she moved to the United States to attend the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, where she graduated with honors in 1983. During her studies, she worked in Providence at WBRU-FM radio in the news department and as an electronic graphics designer for NBC WJAR.

Rapid Rise at CNN

Confident that her academic achievements and radio experience would be recognized by the owners of CNN (Atlanta branch), she joined the network. She secured a full-time position - but as an office assistant. Dissatisfied, she took the initiative in 1984 and traveled to the Democratic National Convention. Her reports earned her a position as a journalist in the foreign affairs department. Soon, she was assigned an independent task. Since she was fluent in Persian, she covered events related to the Iran-Iraq War as a correspondent.

Two years later, in 1986, she was assigned to cover all of Eastern Europe. Reporting directly from Berlin, she documented the fall of European communism. Recognized by CNN executives, she was promoted at the start of 1990 to Western Europe correspondent, based in Frankfurt, Germany.


Her time in Germany lasted only a few months. On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded neighboring Kuwait, and the journalist boarded a plane. Within hours, she was reporting from the front lines. She stayed in Kuwait for several months, and thanks to her reports, CNN provided continuous updates on the situation in the region. She became a war correspondent, with Operation Desert Storm dominating her coverage from the spring of 1991.

Her sharp reporting was appreciated not only by CNN and viewers worldwide but also by award committees. In 1993, at 35, Christiane Amanpour received her first three prestigious awards:

• Livingston Award for Young Journalists
• George Polk Award for Television Reporting
• George Foster Peabody Personal Award

A year later, she was named "Woman of the Year" by New York’s "Women in Cable."

Generation War. The Rise of a Star

She couldn`t sit still at a desk. “She roamed the world,” especially where wars erupted. The Kurdish uprising in northern Iraq and, most notably, the conflict in the Balkans (1992) were among the events she covered that brought her popularity, journalistic success, and awards. Some, like Stephen Kinzer from The New York Times, accused her of bias against Serbs and of editing rather than reporting events. However, she consistently sent updates from conflict zones, calling it the war of my generation.

One of her major achievements during this time was an interview with Serbian General Ratko Mladić, later convicted of genocide. She did not hide her emotions or sympathy toward Muslim Bosniaks, but she considered herself a professional, believing that there are situations where you simply cannot be neutral because when you are neutral, you are complicit. Objectivity does not mean treating all sides equally. It means listening to every side.

For her reports from besieged Sarajevo and her stance, she was awarded Honorary Citizenship of Sarajevo in 2000. In the United States and at CNN, she became an undisputed star.

Until 2010, she was CNN`s chief war correspondent, covering events in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Iran. She also reported from Rwanda and Somalia and was there during the tragedies of September 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Desert Gold. A Film Inspired by Christiane

When her CNN contract ended in 1996, all major television networks vied for the 38-year-old journalist. She had a strong position, a reputation, and the right to choose. She stayed with CNN but also collaborated with CBS and Don Hewitt on several episodes of the popular news magazine 60 Minutes. This collaboration, which lasted until 2005, earned her a second Peabody Award in 1998.

Christiane Amanpour’s persona sparked strong emotions and controversy. Some loved her, while others accused her and tried to knock her off the throne. One thing was certain - you could not ignore her or her work. In 1999, her coverage in Iraq was immortalized in the film Three Kings, with the character of journalist Adriana Cruz based on her.

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The year 1998 brought another joyful moment in her life. She married James Philip Rubin, a State Department spokesman she met in Bosnia. Their marriage lasted 20 years and resulted in a son, Darius John (born 2000).

The new century brought new successes. Perhaps due to her family, Amanpour no longer took direct risks on the front lines but did not abandon conflict reporting entirely. She hosted news programs and, leveraging her high-level connections worldwide, conducted direct interviews with key figures. This was evident in March 2002, when she spoke live with Yasser Arafat during the siege of his headquarters.

Living Television History

Among the prominent figures she interviewed were Angela Merkel, the Dalai Lama, Robert Mugabe, and Muammar Gaddafi, as well as the last King of Greece, Constantine II, and Saudi philanthropist Ameera al-Taweel. After September 11, 2001, she was the first international correspondent to interview Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Jacques Chirac, and President Pervez Musharraf.

Her documentaries and reports became part of television history. Some of the most significant include:

• Where Have All the Parents Gone? (2006, about Kenyan orphans abandoned due to AIDS)
• In the Footsteps of bin Laden (2006)
• The War Within (2007, about tensions within the Islamic community in the UK)
• God’s Warriors (2007, about defenders of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam)

Her program Amanpour became a great success, airing daily in three segments on CNN International and on Sundays on CNN/USA. It premiered on September 21, 2009, and consisted of three parts:

• The Brief or The Summary, where she analyzed topics from multiple perspectives based on her experiences
• Interviews, featuring conversations with leading figures of the time
• Imagine a World, a summary of the day’s topics

Despite its success, CNN parted ways with the program and Amanpour for two years. After 27 years at CNN, she left to join ABC, where she hosted the long-running historical program This Week.

“I am delighted to join the incredible ABC News team. Being asked to host This Week and continue the great tradition started by David Brinkley is a tremendous and rare honor, and I look forward to discussing major national and international issues.” – Amanpour commented.


Her first show aired on August 1, 2010. Unfortunately, during the first two months, ratings were very low. Even high-profile guests like Hillary Clinton and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad couldn’t boost its rankings, which remained in second or third place - a rare situation in Amanpour’s career and a concern for producers. After two years, she left ABC and returned to CNN, reclaiming her place at the top.

Return to the Top and Strong Words on Air

On April 16, 2012, the program Amanpour returned to CNN International`s lineup. The journalist’s meetings with invited guests were broadcast in prime time in Europe, and from November 2015, CNN/USA also began airing the show daily. The guest list quickly filled with well-known names. Among those who accepted the station’s invitation were Queen Rania of Jordan, former Zimbabwean Prime Minister Robert Mugabe, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Swedish diplomat and politician Hans Blix, as well as journalists Christina Brown and Harold Evans. These are just a few of the many guests who have sat across from Christiane Amanpour.

Both the program and its host once again found success. The show Amanpour continues to this day, produced in London, with Liza McGuirk as its long-time producer. The two women share a vision, and CNN President Tony Maddox praised them both: “We are pleased that Amanpour is returning to the heart of CNN International. Christiane has repeatedly proven that she is a leading international television journalist, and with Liza’s dedication to producing compelling television, ‘Amanpour’ will showcase the best of CNN.”

Her return made waves among those interested in both domestic and international politics. Amanpour did not rest on her laurels. She tackled sensitive issues and criticized Barack Obama’s administration, particularly regarding intervention in Syria (2013). In January 2015, she made headlines by referring to the attackers of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo as “activists”: “On this day, these activists found their targets, and their targets were journalists. It was a clear attack on freedom of speech, the press, and satire.” This statement did not sit well with Greg Gutfeld of Fox News.

Five years later, she compared Donald Trump’s administration to the Nazis and the Kristallnacht - the 1938 pogrom against Jews in Berlin - leading the Israeli government to demand a formal apology.

World peace has been a key topic in her significant interviews, such as with Secretary of State John Kerry (July 14, 2015) and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper (2019). Since 2021, the war in Ukraine has been a recurring subject in her interviews and discussions.

For her “significant personal contributions to strengthening international cooperation, supporting state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and promoting Ukraine on the global stage,” President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded her the Order of Merit, Third Class.

Amanpour & Company

Among the many television projects featuring Amanpour, a new program debuted in 2018 on PBS and CNN International: Amanpour & Company. It replaced Charlie Rose, a show broadcast on PBS-affiliated WNET since 1991. Its host, Charlie Rose, was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017, leading to the program’s cancellation.


After discussions between the two networks, they decided to hand the time slot to Christiane Amanpour and extend it to an hour. Her first appearance on the new channel came in December 2017 under the title Amanpour on PBS, featuring the same content as her CNN program. However, in May 2018, she announced the launch of a new original show.

Amanpour & Company premiered on September 10, 2018, at 11:00 PM on WNET. Then, as now, it consists of three segments. The first two are hosted by Christiane and recorded in London, while the third features interviews by New York-based correspondents from an American studio. The first guest of the new show was Kellyanne Conway, advisor and spokesperson for President Trump, with whom she discussed the president’s claim that “the media are the enemy of the people.”

Amanpour & Company is not just about politics but also covers sports, culture, and the daily struggles of ordinary people. Amanpour stays up to date and responds swiftly. A prime example was her interview with tennis player Billie Jean King, discussing the US Open final just two days after Serena Williams lost to Japan’s Naomi Osaka.

The program has also featured famous actors such as Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce, who promoted their film The Wife (2017). Both audiences and producers welcomed the show positively.

“We hope the expanded format and additional contributors will bring a wider range of topics and voices to the nightly news space. Our audience craves more in-depth interviews on current issues than can be found elsewhere,” said Ron Bachman, senior programming director at PBS affiliate WNET in Boston.

Amanpour herself summed up the endeavor: “I am thrilled to expand my role at PBS from temporary to permanent, alongside this incredible diversity of voices and perspectives. Never before has it been more urgent to explore our world and America’s place in it. I will uphold tradition but also expand it and bring it into the 21st century, ensuring gender parity and diverse representation worldwide.”

Both networks face the logistical challenge of coordinating the show across multiple time zones, avoiding guest duplication, and closely monitoring breaking news, which Amanpour often incorporates into her interviews. So far, there have been no major mishaps, and the program has been complemented by her podcast, covering pressing issues in the U.S. and worldwide.

Amanpour, always drawn to challenges, did not let the COVID-19 pandemic stop her. She continued hosting Amanpour & Company from her home in London. Today, the program airs on major television networks across the United States.


In 2021, Christiane Amanpour faced a new personal battle - one that had nothing to do with politics but was very close to her heart: health… ovarian cancer. She disappeared from the airwaves to fight for her life, and she succeeded. Upon her return, she issued a heartfelt appeal to women about educating themselves on the disease, undergoing regular screenings, and “ensuring that your legitimate medical concerns are not dismissed or minimized.”

An Interview as a Symbol. The Iranian President Did Not Show Up

In September 2022, the 64-year-old CNN star once again became a hero to many Americans and a global sensation. During the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, she was granted an interview with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

The planned topics included the unrest in Iran following the arrest and death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police for improper dress. Amanpour also intended to ask about Iran’s support for Russia as the aggressor in Ukraine. Everything was set, and the studio was prepared, but the guest was late. Then, Iranian officials demanded that the journalist cover her hair with a scarf; otherwise, the president would not appear.

Amanpour refused: “I politely declined on behalf of myself, CNN, and female journalists worldwide because this is not a requirement.”

The president did not show up, and media outlets and the internet were soon flooded with an image posted by Amanpour on Twitter: sitting in a white suit, her head uncovered, facing an empty chair. The caption read: “The interview did not take place. With protests ongoing in Iran and people dying, a conversation with President Raisi would have been a crucial moment.”

In later interviews, she commented on her decision: “I didn’t pull a stunt. It was a decision I had to make on the spot.” (The Post)

“Here in New York or anywhere outside Iran, I have never been asked by any Iranian president - and I have interviewed every one of them since 1995 - to wear a headscarf.” (CNN, New Day)

Amanpour’s stance was widely praised by both journalists and television and internet audiences.

A Fighter for Freedom of Speech

Christiane Amanpour has received numerous awards and honors. In addition to 11 Emmy Awards, four Peabody Awards, and two George Polk Awards for journalism, as well as various university accolades, she has been recognized with:

• Persian Women of the Year (2007)
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2007)
• Celebrating Women Award (The New York Women’s Foundation, 2008)
• One of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women (Forbes, 2011)
• UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Freedom of Expression and Journalist Safety (April 2015)
• Pioneer in History (Daily Kos, 2022)

She has been and remains a champion of free speech, independent media, women`s and children`s rights, and LGBTQ rights. She considers the Rwandan genocide one of journalism’s greatest failures. While people were dying, the world stood by, and she was not there. She sees this as her personal shame, though at the time, she was reporting from Bosnia, an assignment she remains most proud of.

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Since the birth of her son, she has limited her travels. Today, at 65, she continues to fight, report, and comment, though no longer directly from the battlefield. Her weapon is the word and its message, and her latest frontline is Ukraine. After 40 years at CNN, she remains steadfast, covering both the world’s wars - both real and human conflicts.

Christiane Amanpour’s Timeline:

• 1958, January 12 – Christiane Amanpour is born
• 1968-1980 – Years of education in the United Kingdom
• 1983 – Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Rhode Island
• 1980-1983 – Work at WBRU-FM and NBC WJAR in Providence
• 1983 – Joins CNN
• 1984 – First independent reports from the Democratic National Convention
• 1986 – Appointed correspondent for all of Eastern Europe
• 1990, Spring – Becomes CNN correspondent for all of Western Europe
• 1990, August – First reports on the Iraq-Kuwait conflict
• 1991, Spring – Reports from the First Gulf War
• 1992-1994 – On-the-ground reporting from the Balkans, including besieged Sarajevo
• 1993 – Wins first major journalism award (Livingston Award for Young Journalists)
• 1996-2005 – Collaborates with CBS on 60 Minutes
• 1998 – Marries James Rubin
• 2000 – Becomes an Honorary Citizen of Sarajevo
• 2009, September 21 – Premiere of the show Amanpour
• 2010-2012 – Moves to ABC to host This Week
• 2018, September 10 – Premiere of Amanpour & Company on PBS and CNN
• 2021 – Battling ovarian cancer and advocating for women`s health
• 2022, August – Awarded the Order of Merit, Third Class, by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
• 2022, September – Interview with the Iranian president does not take place after she refuses to wear a headscarf

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