Maria Shriver is a Peabody and Emmy award-winning journalist for NBC News. A contributing anchor for "Dateline NBC" and contributing correspondent for MSNBC, NBC News correspondent Maria Shriver has reported on a wide variety of topics including a critically acclaimed hour-long special on Karen Pommer, the employment of battered women's advocate Lenore Walker by the O.J. Simpson defense team and an hour-long documentary on Wisconsin's welfare reform program (for which she won a Peabody award.) Shriver also recently authored two best-selling children's books called "What's Heaven?" and "Ten Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Went Out Into the Real World." She is presently at work on her third children's book.
During the 1992, 1996 and 2000 political seasons, Shriver served as the NBC News podium correspondent for the Democratic and Republican Conventions. Shriver scored coups at the conventions by obtaining the first interview with Hillary Rodham Clinton and Elizabeth Dole. She also had an exclusive live interview with former President George Bush. Previously, she co-anchored NBC News' "Sunday Today" from September 20, 1987 to April 1990, winning several awards for her work. She anchored weekend editions of "NBC Nightly News" and substituted as anchor on "NBC News at Sunrise," "Today" and "NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw."
Shriver joined NBC News in 1986 as a correspondent for the primetime news hour. From 1987 to 1988, she served as anchor of "Main Street," NBC News' award-winning monthly TV newsmagazine for young people. Shriver was also co-anchor for NBC's Emmy-winning coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics from Seoul. She conducted exclusive NBC News interviews with Vice President Dan Quayle, Cuban leader Fidel Castro, King Hussein of Jordan and Philippine President Corazon Aquino. For the Aquino interview, Shriver earned the Exceptional Merit Media Award from the National Women's Political Caucus. Shriver also earned the 1990 Christopher Award for "Fatal Addictions," an NBC News special. Her past NBC News specials also includes "The Baby Business" and "Women Behind Bars."
Before joining NBC News, Shriver served as co-anchor of the "CBS Morning News." Before that, she was a reporter for CBS News in Los Angeles, beginning in September 1983. Earlier, she was a national correspondent for Group W's "PM Magazine" and a producer for Westinghouse Broadcasting.
She began her career as a newswriter/producer for KYW-TV in Philadelphia in 1977. In 1978, she moved to WJZ-TV in Baltimore as a writer/producer on the station's "Evening Magazine."
Shriver was born in Chicago. She received a bachelor of arts degree in American studies from Georgetown University in June 1977. She and her husband live in Los Angeles. They have two daughters and two sons.