Christiane Amanpour to Leave CNN After 43 Years
Christiane Amanpour, one of the most recognizable faces in international news, is leaving CNN after more than four decades with the network.
"After many months of thought and a few sleepless nights, I have decided to separate from CNN, my partner of 43 fantastic years!" Amanpour, 68, said in a statement Monday, The Desk reported.
A Gradual Goodbye
Amanpour is not leaving right away. She will end her daily shows on CNN and PBS at the end of 2026, including "Amanpour & Company," the PBS interview program that launched in 2018. The CNN-produced show took over the time slot that "Charlie Rose" previously held on many PBS stations.
Starting in early 2027, her CNN International interview show, "Amanpour," will drop to one episode a week before ending in May. She will continue reporting from the field and traveling on assignment for CNN until her departure at the end of June 2027.
She has hosted "Amanpour" since 2009. The show was cut back to several days a week in January 2025. She also hosts "The Amanpour Hour" on CNN's U.S. network, TheWrap reported.
"Always Be Truthful, Not Neutral"
In her statement, Amanpour thanked her colleagues, especially her show teams and field crews. "It's the teams and the camaraderie that counted so much," she said.
She looked back on her coverage of the first Gulf War, Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Iran, and closed with a message for her colleagues: "Always be truthful, not neutral."
CNN Chairman Mark Thompson confirmed the news in a memo to staff. "Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months," he wrote. "I'm very sorry to see her go, but I've come to accept that this is the right time for her."
Thompson called her "one of the most trusted and beloved journalists anywhere" and said CNN will celebrate her contributions in the months before she leaves.
A Storied Career
Amanpour joined CNN in 1983 as a news desk assistant in Atlanta, just three years after the network launched. In his memo, Thompson noted that a boss once told her she did not have what it took to become a foreign correspondent.
She proved that boss wrong. Amanpour became an international correspondent in 1990, and her first major assignment was the Persian Gulf War. She went on to cover conflicts in Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Iraq and Ukraine, winning multiple Emmy, Peabody and George Polk awards along the way.
In 2010, she left CNN to anchor ABC's "This Week," succeeding George Stephanopoulos. She returned to CNN International in 2012.
Amanpour was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2021 and disclosed in 2025 that it had returned. She did not connect her decision to leave CNN to her health.
A Network in Transition
Her announcement comes less than two weeks after David Ellison's Skydance completed its takeover of CNN's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, putting CNN and CBS News under the same corporate owner. The deal, which created a new media giant, has raised questions about CNN's editorial direction.
Media reporter Brian Stelter first shared the news of her exit Monday. At a recent appearance in London, Amanpour spoke about an "ideological realignment" at CBS News and said she felt "concern" about her own network's future, Mediaite reported. Her statement did not link her exit to the new ownership.
Her departure is the first planned resignation of a CNN journalist since the takeover. As for what comes next, Amanpour said she plans to pursue new projects and will continue "The Ex-Files," a podcast she co-hosts with her former husband, Jamie Rubin.
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