• John Avlon is an American journalist and political commentator working for CNN as anchor and senior political analyst.
• He was raised in the US and was interested in journalism from an early age.
• He has written four books and has been the recipient of multiple awards and honors for his work.
• Avlon is married to American conservative political commentator, author and media personality Margaret Hoover, and they have two children together.
• He is 49 years old with a net worth of over $4 million.



Known for movies

Short Info

SpouseMargaret Hoover
FactFormer Rudy Giuliani speech-writer.

Who is John Avlon?

John Phillips Avlon was born in the USA of Greek descent, on 19 January 1973 – his zodiac sign is Capricorn, and he holds American nationality. He’s a journalist and political commentator, who’s perhaps known best for the work which he’s done for the multinational news-based pay TV channel Cable News Network (CNN), and is today working as their anchor and senior political analyst.

Early life and education

John was raised in the US by his father John Jeffrey Avlon who was a lawyer and real estate executive, and who worked for several companies in New York City and Charleston, South Carolina; his mother is Dianne Alexander (nee Phillips) who was a housewife.

John hasn’t spoken of having any siblings, but it’s believed that he was raised alongside a younger brother.

John became interested in journalism while attending a local high school in Milton, Massachusetts, but was also into various other activities, including playing soccer and basketball, as well as appearing in school plays. He then progressed to the independent preparatory school Milton Academy, and upon matriculating in 1991, enrolled at the prestigious Yale University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1995.

John continued his education at Columbia University, from which he graduated with a Master of Business Administration degree in 1997.

John’s career

John launched his career when he became the speechwriter for the now-former Mayor of New York City Rudolph Giuliani, becoming the youngest person to hold that position. He was promoted to chief speechwriter and deputy director of Policy in 2000, and some of the mayor’s addresses which he had prepared were to the UN General Assembly on counter-terrorism, to Congress on Homeland Security, and to State of the city.

He was hired by the American news website The Daily Beast in 2008, only a month after it was launched, initially as a columnist, but went on to become their political editor, then executive editor, and eventually managing editor.

John became their editor-in-chief in 2013, and during his leadership, the website doubled its daily number of readers to more than a million, and won close to 20 awards.

It was in May 2018 that John revealed that he was offered a job at CNN, and would thus be leaving The Daily Beast.

TV appearances

John has been invited to make a guest appearance in numerous talk-shows, such as “The Daily Show”, “Real Time with Bill Maher”, and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”; he has also appeared in many news shows on networks C-Span, PBS, and MSNBC.

Since his move to CNN, John has been appearing in their daily show “New Day”, and has co-anchored their shows “Reliable Sources” and “State of America”. He has been credited with creating and hosting the segment “Wingnut of the Week” which airs on CNN, and he also hosted the 2021 CNN documentary series “Reality Check with John Avlon: Extremist Beat”, which covers extremist groups in the US.

He has been interviewed for a number of documentaries, such as the mini-series “Washington” and the movie “Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists”.

Image source

Writing

He wrote the essay “The Resilient City” right after the 9/11 attacks, and the American author and professor of history Fred Siegel has referred to it as ‘the single best essay written in the wake of 9/11’.

On 28 February 2011, John wrote the story “A 21st Century Statesman” for the news magazine “Newsweek”, which was about the American actor and moviemaker George Clooney.

He has published four books – John’s debut book “Independent Nation” was published in 2004, and was followed by “Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America” in 2010. He published “Washington’s Farewell: The Founding Father’s Warning to Future Generations” in 2017, while his most recent book, “Lincoln and the Fight for Peace” came out in 2022.

Awards and honors

John was honored by The National Society of Newspaper Columnists for his online column in “The Daily Beast” in 2011.

The following year saw him win a NSNC Award for Best Online Column.

In 2017, the news website Mediate named John ‘One of the Most Influential in News Media’.

Love life and wife Margaret Hoover

John prefers to keep the details of his love life away from the media’s attention, but cannot hide the fact that he’s today both a husband and a father. He married the American conservative political commentator, author and media personality Margaret Claire Hoover in 2009, in a large ceremony attended by many of their friends and family members; Margaret’s probably known best for her book “American Individualism: How A New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party”, which was published in 2011, and she’s also known for being the great-granddaughter of the 31st US President Herbert Hoover.

In 2013, Margaret gave birth to their son Jack, and their daughter Toula Lou followed in 2015.

John hasn’t mentioned any other women whom he has perhaps been with, so as of April 2022, he’s married to Margaret Hoover, and they have two children together.

Hobbies and other interests

John’s quite active on Instagram, and apparently enjoys the attention which he’s receiving from his more than 10,000 followers. He’s uploaded close to 1,500 pictures onto the network, the majority of which feature him during his everyday life.

John likes to travel, and his career has taken him all around the world, although he prefers to travel around the US than overseas; he does, however, like to travel to Greece, as he’s proud of his roots.

One of his favorite hobbies is fishing, and he often goes fishing with his son; some of the fish which they have caught can be seen featured in John’s Instagram pictures.

John enjoys watching movies with his wife late at night – his favorite actor and actress are Will Smith and Sandra Bullock, while a couple of his favorite movies include “Men in Black”, “I Am Legend” and “I, Robot”.

Age, height and net worth

John’s age is 49. He has short black hair and brown eyes, his height is 5ft 6ins (1.7m) and he weighs around 145lbs (65kgs).

As of April 2022, his net worth has been estimated at more than $4 million.

Subscribe for the updates

* indicates required

General Info

Full NameJohn Avlon
ProfessionJournalist, Columnist, Editor, Author, Television presenter, Speechwriter
EducationYale University
NationalityAmerican

Family

SpouseMargaret Hoover
ChildrenToula Lou Hoover Avlon, Jack Avlon

Social profile links


Source: IMDb, Wikipedia
Author

As a Freelance Writer at Biography Pedia, I oversee the full writing process, from in-depth research to the development of compelling narratives, ensuring accuracy and excellence in our output. Our goal is to produce insightful profiles that deeply explore the lives of prominent figures in business, entertainment, and other fields. Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, we spotlight the significant journeys and achievements of individuals who captivate and inspire our readers.

1 Comment

  1. Gary Mortimer Reply

    I am very impressed with John Avlon who I just “discovered” as I saw him being interviewed by Alyson someone.

    May you he have great success with the Democratic party. He sounds like the kind of person we need more of.

Write A Comment

Pin It