If you are a fan of the Los Angeles-based TV network KTLA, chances are that you must have witnessed or heard the story of one of the channel’s female reporters who was ’embarrassed’ by a bare-chested man, who asked her out on a date during an interview on live TV. The incident occurred sometime in 2014, when the reporter who happened to be Courtney Friel, was covering a wildfire in Los Angeles. The news made headlines, bringing Courtney to the notice of a lot of people who never knew her before then.
Courtney is currently an anchor and reporter at KTLA Channel 5 in Los Angeles, and although she anchors the 6, 9,10, and 11 pm weekend newscasts, you will also find her reporting for the media outlet from Mondays to Wednesdays. Below are lesser-known facts about Friel, including the details of her career and love life.
Biography and Profile Summary
| Age/Date of Birth: | 43 years old (April 22, 1980) |
|---|---|
| Height: | 5 ft 7 in(1.68m) |
| Ethnicity/Race: | White |
| Nationality: | American |
| Husband or Boyfriend: | Carter Evans (married in 2005; divorced in 2016) |
| Parents: | Father: Bernard Friel Mother: Lois Friel |
| Net Worth: | $850, 000 |
Courtney Friel’s Life At A Glance
Amazing Facts About Courtney Friel’s Childhood
The talented journalist was born on the 22nd of April 1980, and she is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When she was very young, Courtney Friel was enrolled at Methacton High School in Norristown, Pennsylvania, where she started living her love for journalism. At the time, she made frequent morning announcements that were aired on television, and she was always at the forefront of the school’s media production assignments.
Following the submission of a short video she did, Friel landed an opportunity to appear in Channel One News’ Student Week Show in Los Angeles. Soon after Courtney Friel graduated high school, she went on to acquire a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from San Diego State University. While she was there, Courtney also worked with the school’s media outfit.
Courtney Friel has revealed that her first job in local news was as a primetime anchor at WBBJ (ABC) in Jackson, Tennessee. According to her, it was her responsibility to shoot, edit, and write her own stories, in addition to rolling the teleprompter with her right foot in the course of the newscasts. She has also revealed that her first day of live television started at 4 am, with a deadly tornado that leveled the town and wrecked her car.
Failed Marriage, Divorce And Her New-Found Love
Courtney Friel has been once married before, and she is on the verge of tying the knot a second time. Her first marriage was to her industry colleague, Carter Evans, a correspondent for CBS News who she reportedly met in San Diego, and dated for several years before they decided to get married. Unfortunately, their marriage, which was contracted in 2005, could not survive beyond 2016 as the couple parted ways for unknown reasons.
The union produced two children- a son, Cash Hudson, born in 2011, and a daughter named Cameron Kaiulaniin, born in 2012. Friel regards being a mother to the kids as her biggest life accomplishment. Not long after their divorce, Carter remarried Lauren Lyster, a KTLA reporter, in August 2018, while Courtney got involved with a New York native named Jim Hecht.
Jim, who is a screenwriter, was born on September 19, 1975, and has a lot of works to his credit, including Ice Age: The Meltdown, Ice Age: The Great Egg Scapade, and A Wizard’s Tale, among others. In September 2019, Jim engaged Courtney by surprising her at her favorite store as her family and friends were hiding in the aisle. The couple has scheduled their wedding to hold on the 10th of October 2020.
How Did She Become So Popular?
In the early days of her professional journalism career, the beautiful lady worked at GoTV Mobile Television, where she served as a sports anchor & entertainment reporter. She also worked in Travel Channel, serving as the hostess for the gaming and entertainment brand, World Poker Tour. Additionally, she worked for GameStop/EBGames as the host of the company’s computer and video games.
Before this time, she worked for Court TV as a co-anchor on the channel’s programme, The Saturday Night Solution. She also worked on the field as a reporter for different networks, including Oxygen Channel, E! Entertainment, Comcast Cable, Travel Channel’s World Poker Tour, and also the syndicated TV news magazine program, Extra.
In 2003, she got employed at ABC WBBJ-TV in Tennessee, and there, she covered the sequence of the May 2003 tornado outbreak. Courtney remained with the network for the next four years, before she moved over to Fox News Channel (FNC) in February 2007. At FNC, she was a New York Correspondent, as well as a fill-in host on Fox & Friends, and a contributor on the show Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld. In the course of the latter show, on the 22nd of November 2011, Courtney Friel announced that plans had been concluded for her to move to Fox News’ Los Angeles bureau.
Two years later, Friel left the network after working with Fox News for six years. She went on to join the Los Angeles-based KTLA TV in 2013. There she has been working as a host and correspondent to date. She has interviewed many celebrities and was once nominated for an Emmy award. Among the highlights of her career at KTLA are May 2016 coverage of the discrimination against Muslim women at Laguna Beach and the February 2016 rescue of a local newspaper vendor, who was stranded for 4 days, etc.
Other Activities Outside Journalism
In addition to her journalism career, Courtney has made appearances on television shows such as XXX: Return of Xander Cage, Veep, and Goliath. She also published a book titled Tonight at 10: Kicking Booze and Breaking News on the 31st of December 2019, and in it, she talks about her addiction issues and the road to sobriety.
The charming lady also hosts a weekly podcast show called Keepin’ It Friel: Conversations on Recovery. On the show, she has truthful and straightforward conversations with celebrities and media personalities about their recovery from addiction.
Having been sober for more than ten years now, Courtney desires to be a source of inspiration to other people battling addictions as she is a living proof that recovery is possible, and that one can live a fun-filled and rewarding life without indulging in drugs and alcohol.
A Summary of Courtney Friel’s Personal Information
| Profile Summary | |
|---|---|
| First Name: | Courtney |
| Last Name: | Friel |
| Also Known As: | Courtney |
| Sex/Gender: | Female |
| Profession: | News anchor |
| Famous For: | KTLA-TV |
| Colleges/Universities Attended: | San Diego State University |
| Educational Qualifications: | N/A |
| Religion: | Unknown |
| Birthday & Zodiac |
|
| Age/Date of Birth: | 43 years old (April 22, 1980) |
| Zodiac Sign: | Taurus |
| Birth Place: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Nationality: | American |
| Ethnicity/Race: | White |
| Country of Residence: | United States of America (USA) |
| Physical Attributes |
|
| Height: | 5 ft 7 in(1.68m) |
| Weight: | 55 Kg(121lbs) |
| Eye Colour: | Blue |
| Hair Color: | Hazel |
| Other Body Measurements: | N/A |
| Relationships | |
| Marital Status: | Divorced |
| Spouse/Partner: | Carter Evans (married in 2005; divorced in 2016) |
| Family and Relatives |
|
| Father: | Bernard Friel |
| Mother: | Lois Friel |
| Children: | Cash Hudson Evans- Son Cameron Kaiulani Evans - Daughter |
| Siblings: | Meredith Friel (Younger Sister), Lindsay Friel (Younger Sister) |
| Other Relatives: | N/A |
| Net Worth | |
| Estimated Net Worth: | $850, 000 |
| Salary: | Under Review |
| Source of Wealth: | Journalism |
