Linsey Davis | Biography 2021

• By Chetana
• Update : July 27, 2021

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Linsey Davis is an American Journalist at the ABC News. She is the recipient of two 'Emmy Awards' and has authored three best-selling children's books.

Who is Linsey Davis?

Linsey Davis is an anchor and news reporter from Pennsylvania. She has been a graceful advocate of the political and social rights of people of all races and gender.

Davis primarily wanted to become a psychologist but fell in love with anchoring during her college days. After graduation, she went to New York University to do a master's degree in journalism and mass communication. Davis then worked in a local news reporting station, later shifted to WJRT-TV, an ABC-owned station in Flint, Michigan, WTHR-TV Indianapolis, and finally landed in ABC NewsOne, affiliated news service of ABC News as a New-York based correspondent in the year 2007.

Since then, she has been providing lead reports on ABC News, including the 2020 presidential election cycle, eight nights of Democratic and Republic National Conventions. She also co-anchored the two presidential debates, the vice presidential debate, and the final presidential election, and the Inauguration Day. Additionally, she moderated the Democratic presidential debates of both September 2019 and February 2020.

During her time on live broadcast, Davis has won two 'Emmy Awards' and a regional 'Edward R. Murrow Award.' Alongside, Davis is also a best-selling author of three children's books.

Early Life

Linsey Davis was born on October 21, 1977, in Pennsylvania, USA. Her father, Ronald Davis, was a Mathematics teacher and later opened a construction company, while her mother, Beverly Davis, was an English teacher. Born in a Christian family, Davis grew up going to churches with her older sister in Pennsylvania. The church happened to be the first place for Davis to start public speaking and build up confidence for her future directions.  

Davis completed her schooling at Moorestown Friends School and did an undergraduate in Psychology from the University of Virginia. Her master's degree in Communication was from New York University. At college, she got a chance to study in London as an exchange student, where she indulged in studying writing and British literature.

Once Davis was in Spain with a Spanish exchange student from her high school. While watching the news in Spanish, Davis realized her fluency in the language was not good and found it tough to understand the news. Yet, at that moment of translation, Davis found a spark in news reporting and decided to become a reporter. 

Reminiscing the moment, Davis said, "… at that moment, I'd said, 'That's what I want to do.' And I will say—I guess it's a blessing or a curse—I'm the kind of person who really focuses on something and really doesn't let it go. So, for whatever reason, I decided in their living room in Seville, Spain that day, that that's what I want to do. Then I just started looking at like, what do I need? What are the steps that I need to take in order to do that?"

Beginning of Career

At first, Davis worked as an intern in a family friend's TV station. Though Davis had a master's degree in journalism and mass communication, she had no clue about her choices.

Then, from 2001 to 2003, Davis worked at WJRT-TV, the ABC-owned station in Flint, Michigan. She began as an intern and later got promoted to a reporter.

From 2003 to 2007, Davis worked as an anchor of the evening newscaster for the weekends at the WTHR-TV in Indianapolis. There, she started as a reporter and was then promoted to an anchor. During her time at WTHR-TV, Davis reported Hurricane Katrina from New Orleans, then covered the 2004 Summer Olympics from Athens and the 2007 Winter Olympics from Torino.

ABC News

Eventually, in 2007, as a New-York based correspondent, Davis joined the ABC NewsOne, the affiliated news service of ABC News.

Davis made a significant impression with her special 'Nightline' report in 2009. The reporting focused on African-American women about why they are more likely to remain single when compared to other races or gender. The report made headlines as it exhibited the reality of millions of women who were unable to find life partners, the reason being their race and success.

Subsequently, Davis conducted major interviews with prominent members of the society, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, politicians like Secretary Hillary Clinton, and Vice President Mike Pence. One of her social highlights was Mayon Burrell, an inmate from Minneapolis who claimed to be wrongfully convicted for murder by the chief prosecutor of the case, Senator Amy Klobuchar.

After George Floyd's death and the black lives matter protests in early 2020, Davis conducted a roundtable discussion with black female mayors of the country on domestic terrorism and hate-inspired violence in America. She advocated against the inbuilt hate crime driven by race and gender in society and also anchored a documentary related to it.

Additionally, Davis covered the significant political events of the nation during the 2020 presidential election cycle. She co-anchored and moderated the Democratic presidential debates of September 2019 and February 2020, for which the viewers highly praised her leadership and accountability skills. Davis covered the eight nights of the Democratic and Republic National Conventions, also co-anchored the two presidential debates, the vice presidential debate, the presidential election, and the Inauguration Day.  

From 2021, along with her regular anchoring on the ABC News Live newscast every Monday to Thursday, Davis started anchoring the weekend broadcasts of ABC News 'World News Tonight' with Whit Johnson.

Above all, Davis is also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, with other leading journalists like Joy Reid, Jericka Duncan, Adriana Diaz, and Tiffany Cross.

Davis has also received a couple of accolades for her contribution to the broadcasting sector of the nation. She has been honored with two 'Emmy Awards,' a regional 'Edward R. Murrow Award,' and also the distinction of 'Up and Comer' by the Center for Leadership Development.

Children's Book

Alongside journalism, Davis had also published three best-selling children's books. Her first book, 'The World is Awake for Little Ones,' was published in February 2019, the second book, 'One Big Heart,' was published in August 2019, and the third book, 'Stay This Way Forever,' was published in February 2021.

Davis took inspiration from her son for her books and dedicated them to all the colored children describing it as a 'love letter to our children.' She also honors her mother's parenting efficiency, which was instilled in herself and her sister while growing up.

While the first book reflected the celebration of everyday blessings, the second book was about a celebration of being more alike than different. She connoted, "I felt like with the current climate in our country and world, I wanted to reinforce that that's an important cause. It's not a new lesson for children, I think that children already get it, they're not first focusing on our differences. You know, my son's five, and when he comes home, and he's met a new friend, he doesn't tell me about their race or their background or religion or culture…So, I wanted to reinforce that notion for him and other children and parents who I think to find that same value important to put in place for their children…I think that they[children] do see color, they just don't assign a value to it. Quite often, it's adults who do that…"

All her three books have been a best-seller since their respective releases.

Is Linsey Davis Married?

The ABC News anchor has been happily married to her partner Roberts since 10 March 2013. The two exchanged wedding vows at Oheka Castle on Long Island, New York. For the ceremony, Davis wore a white strapless mermaid gown with a long veil and Paul opted for a black suit paired with a crisp white shirt.

Davis and Roberts are proud parents of a son named Ayden. Born on March 28, 2014, their son is seven years old as of 2021. 

Both Davis and her husband are actively involved in charitable works. The couple has been spotted together in many events, including a charity event hosted by Brag USA, a non-profit organization on 23 October 2019, and a marathon event in Little Rock, Arkansas.

New Position As a Co-anchor

She is also the weekend co-anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight since February 2021. She is the first black woman to hold a prime-time show in 18 years on ABC.

“Linsey and Whit are both familiar faces at the World News Tonight desk, having filled in on the weekends and for David during the week,” ABC News President James Goldston stated in a memo to staff.

In a February 2021 interview with The View, when asked about what the position means to her, she expressed her gratitude towards Carole Simpson, the first African-American woman to host a major US network newscast, and Shirley Chisholm, the first black congressional representative who motivated her to keep moving forward.

Children’s Books

Davis has written three children’s books as of July 2021. She launched her first book, 'The World is Awake' in February 2019 and was a bestseller. Her second book titled 'One Big Heart,' was also a bestseller published in August 2019. In February 2021, she published her third novel, 'Stay This Way Forever.'

She got the inspiration to write children’s books from her son Ayden. In a 2020 interview with UrbanFaith, she said, “I have a seven-year-old. And after he was born, I was reading children’s books to him. And I started thinking, you know, I could do this.”

She further explained that many people believe that creating children's books is a far cry from the journalism profession. But she believes herself to be a storyteller at heart.

‘The World is Awake for Little Ones’

The book follows a poetic journey through a day filled with love, as viewed through the magnificence of God's creation. 'The World is Awake for Little Ones' is an engaging and inspiring board book that tells kids they are secure in God's hands and protected by all of his great blessings.

The book earned several recognitions including the Christopher Award in 2019 and named as The category of Books for Young People. In 2018, Focus on the Family named it one of the top ten children's pictures books.

The book was published by Zonderkidz on 6 February 2018, and the illustrations were done by Lucy Fleming.

'One Big Heart’

'One Big Heart' is a cheerful celebration of diversity. It is a multicultural, multiracial children's picture book that acknowledges the differences while also appreciating the similarities between the races. The book depicts an uplifting story about belonging and connection and is written from the perspective of a Christian.

This book was also published by Zonderkidz on 6 August 2019. 

‘Stay this Way Forever’

After the success of her previous children's books, 'The World Is Awake' and 'One Big Heart, 'the best-selling author has written another children's book for parents and grandparents to share with their kids to let them know how special they are.

The book is inspired by the adorable qualities she sees in her own son, Ayden. “Out of nowhere, he asked, ‘Who opens the flowers, God?’ I was both shocked and thrilled at the same time that he would make such a connection, and that he was so curious about God and the world.”

According to Good Reads, the book can help young brains make a lasting impression as they discover their own distinctive talents, thanks to attractive pictures by famous artist Fleming and amusing and touching read-aloud rhymes.

Davis stated on The View, referring to the illustrations by Fleming that half of the youngsters are not white in the United States and over 90% of the leads in children's books are still white. So, self-affirmation is sought in novels by children. She explained children need to locate mirrors and windows - mirrors to reflect their own self, and windows to peek out into a world to view while they read a book. 

A Member of the National Association of Black Journalists

The Emmy Award Winner is also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. It was founded by 44 men and women during a landmark conference in Washington, D.C. The members of NABJ come from a variety of journalism platforms and professions across the United States. 

It was founded by journalists, students, and media professionals with a motive to provide quality programs, services, and support to Black journalists around the world, as well as advocacy.

A Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority

Aside from NABJ, she is also a valued member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 

In 1908, nine undergraduate students on the Howard University campus came up with the idea for Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Ever since the sorority has grown into a worldwide influential organization with almost 300,000 members who are united by sisterhood and motivated by a dedication to leadership behavior that is both local and international in scope.