Cokie Roberts, Legendary Broadcast Journalist, Dies at 75 of Complications from Breast Cancer
Renowned broadcast journalist Cokie Roberts died Tuesday at the age of 75.
“We will miss Cokie beyond measure, both for her contributions and for her love and kindness,” Roberts’ family said in a statement obtained by ABC News.
According to the statement, Roberts died of complications from breast cancer.
“We would like to thank the staff at the National Institutes of Health for their dedication, expertise, work and incredible care for Cokie during her illness,” her family said.
Roberts — a pioneering female journalist, winner of three Emmys and bestselling author — began her career in TV and radio, joining ABC News in 1988 as a political correspondent for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings.
She went on to co-anchor ABC’s Sunday morning show, This Week, with Sam Donaldson, and was also a regular fill-in anchor for Ted Koppel on Nightline. She also served as political commentator and chief congressional analyst during her three decades at the network.
“Cokie Roberts will be dearly missed,” ABC News president James Goldston said in a statement. “Cokie’s kindness, generosity, sharp intellect and thoughtful take on the big issues of the day made ABC a better place and all of us better journalists.”
Roberts was “a true pioneer for women in journalism,” Goldston said, “well-regarded for her insightful analysis of politics and policy in Washington, D.C., countless newsmaking interviews, and, notably, her unwavering support for generations of young women — and men — who would follow in her footsteps.”
Roberts, who for years urged women to get regular mammograms, announced her breast cancer diagnosis in 2002.
“Fortunately, in the course of my efforts to inform others about the disease, I learned about the benefits of early detection,” she said in a statement to The Washington Post at the time. “Now I am the beneficiary of that information.”
She added that her diagnosis didn’t give her a newfound perspective on life, because she “had a healthy perspective on life already.”
“I have always cared more about family than my career,” she said. “I lost my father at age 58 in a terrible accident and I lost my sister at age 51. So I didn’t need any extra perspective on life.”
Roberts is survived by her husband of 53 years, fellow journalist Steven Roberts; her children, Lee and Rebecca; and her six grandchildren.
