Elizabeth Vargas
A network news anchor who built a career on serious journalism before publicly navigating addiction and mental health with striking candor.
Born 1962 (age 64)·American television journalist·Birthday: September 6·Baby Boomers
Biography
Elizabeth Vargas's voice became a fixture in American living rooms, delivering breaking news and in-depth investigations with a calm, authoritative presence. She climbed the ranks of broadcast journalism, from local news to coveted roles at NBC and then ABC, where she co-anchored 'World News Tonight' and '20/20.' Her reporting often tackled difficult subjects, from war zones to personal tragedies, with a signature empathy. In a move that redefined her public persona, Vargas later chose to disclose her long struggle with anxiety and alcohol use disorder, writing a memoir and speaking openly about recovery. This vulnerability added a profound new dimension to her work, informing her subsequent roles as a documentary anchor for A&E and host of 'America's Most Wanted,' where she continues to pursue stories of consequence with hard-won perspective.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Elizabeth was born in 1962, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Elizabeth Was Born
The biggest hits of 1962
#1 Movie
Lawrence of Arabia
Best Picture
Lawrence of Arabia
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Elizabeth's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1962Born
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1967Started school
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1975Became a teenager
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Could drive
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1980Could vote
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Turned 21
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1992Turned 30
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 40
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 50
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 60
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 64 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-anchored ABC's 'World News Tonight' and was a primary anchor of the newsmagazine '20/20' for over a decade.
- Led numerous high-profile interviews and investigations, earning several Emmy Awards for her reporting.
- Authored the memoir 'Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction,' a New York Times bestseller.
Did You Know?
She was the first Latina anchor of a major network evening newscast in the United States.
Vargas is a trained classical pianist.
She replaced Bob Woodruff as co-anchor of 'World News Tonight' after he was seriously injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
“The truth is, I was terrified of being found out. I was living a double life.”
