ABC and NPR Journalist Cokie Roberts Dead at 75 from Breast Cancer
Cokie Roberts ABC News Journalist Dead at 75
UPDATE
8:58 AM PT -- Former President Barack Obama said he and Michelle are sad to hear about Cokie's passing. The 44th President said, "She was a trailblazing figure; a role model to young women at a time when the profession was still dominated by men; a constant over forty years of a shifting media landscape and changing world, informing voters about the issues of our time and mentoring young journalists every step of the way."
UPDATE
Obama added, "She will be missed -- and we send our condolences to her family."
Cokie Roberts -- the revered journalist and political commentator who was a pioneer for women during her storied career -- has died.
The network where she spent more than 3 decades, ABC News, announced Cokie's passing Tuesday morning. She died from complications of breast cancer, according to a family statement.
Cokie -- born Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs -- earned her name from her older brother, who couldn't pronounce Corinne. The name Cokie stuck for the rest of her life. She made a name for herself as a young Capitol Hill reporter for NPR before joining ABC News in 1988.
She became a contributor on "This Week" before co-anchoring the popular news show with Sam Donaldson. They co-anchored the show from 1996 until 2002.
Cokie was also a best-selling author with several New York Times Best Sellers titles to her name.
She was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and named one of the 50 greatest women in the history of broadcasting by the American Women in Radio and Television.
She was so respected ... Cokie was literally named a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress in 2008. She famously came from a long line of family members embedded in politics -- her father was Congressman and Democratic House majority leader Thomas Boggs, who was also a member of the Warren Commission ... which investigated the JFK assassination.
Cokie's survived by her husband of 53 years, Steven Roberts, and her 2 kids, Lee and Rebecca.
She was 75.
Originally Published -- 8:02 AM PT
