Betty Nguyen has worked at nearly every major television news network in the United States. CNN, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, WPIX. She has anchored morning shows, covered presidential elections, reported from disaster zones, and hosted national broadcasts that reached millions of viewers.
Then, in October 2021, she quietly left WPIX in New York. No farewell broadcast. No public explanation. Viewers who had watched her co-anchor the PIX11 Morning News since 2017 were left without answers.
The station’s website updated her bio with a single line: “Betty Nguyen was an anchor for the PIX11 Morning News. She left the station in October 2021.”
That silence sparked a wave of online questions. Here is what actually happened, where Betty Nguyen is now, and the full story of a career that began in a refugee camp and led to national television.
Betty Nguyen’s Current Role at CBS Miami (WFOR-TV)
Betty Nguyen is currently working as the morning news co-anchor at WFOR-TV, the CBS owned-and-operated station in Miami. She joined the station in February 2023 and began on-air duties on March 13, 2023.
At WFOR, Nguyen co-anchors the weekday morning broadcast from 4:30 to 7 a.m. alongside Keith Jones. The team also includes meteorologist Lissette Gonzalez and breaking news and traffic anchor Austin Carter.
The move represented a return to CBS. Nguyen had previously worked at the network level as a CBS News anchor and correspondent from 2010 to 2013, and she anchored at the CBS affiliate KTVT in Dallas-Fort Worth from 1998 to 2004.
Darryll Green, the president and general manager of CBS’s Miami properties, described the hire in clear terms: “It’s not every day that you get an opportunity to recruit someone who has been honored by the Smithsonian as a pioneer in television news, and had her reporting recognized with major industry awards on so many occasions.”
As of 2026, Nguyen remains active at CBS Miami, covering local news ranging from hurricane threats and housing market reports to immigration policy stories and environmental coverage.
Why Betty Nguyen Left WPIX in 2021
The circumstances around Nguyen’s departure from WPIX remain largely unexplained. Neither the station nor Nguyen issued a detailed public statement about why she left.
Nguyen had joined PIX11 in June 2017, replacing longtime anchor Sukanya Krishnan. She co-anchored the PIX11 Morning News alongside Dan Mannarino for more than four years.
In October 2021, viewers noticed her absence. The station’s website was updated to reflect her departure in the past tense. Some viewers expressed frustration on social media about the lack of a proper farewell or explanation, with several noting that the abrupt nature of the exit didn’t match the years of work she had put into the broadcast.
After leaving WPIX, Nguyen did not immediately surface at another network. She spent roughly 16 months off the air before her hiring at CBS Miami was announced in February 2023. Whether the break was voluntary or whether contract negotiations played a role has never been publicly confirmed.
What is clear is that WPIX’s loss became CBS Miami’s gain. Nguyen arrived in South Florida with more than two decades of national and local broadcast experience, a portfolio of awards, and a personal story that few journalists in the industry can match.
HI HAZEL! 👋 @DanMannarino welcomed @hsancheztv to the PIX11 Morning News family. Catch them starting at 7 a.m. weekdays.
And don’t worry — you can still catch PIX11’s Betty Nguyen weekday mornings. Grab a cup of coffee and wake up Betty, John, and the PIX11 News at 4:30 a.m.☕ pic.twitter.com/Orfmk8ZmQB
— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) September 20, 2021
From Saigon to Texas: Betty Nguyen’s Refugee Story
Betty Nguyen was born on September 1, 1974, in Saigon, South Vietnam. She was less than a year old when her family’s life changed permanently.
In April 1975, during the Fall of Saigon, Nguyen’s family fled the country. Her father had served as an American serviceman in Vietnam and married a Vietnamese college student. As the war ended, the family escaped on a packed C-130 military cargo plane.
They lived in three different refugee camps before eventually settling in Fort Worth, Texas. Nguyen became a naturalized U.S. citizen at the age of six, in 1980. She is the oldest of five sisters, including Phi and Kim.
Nguyen has spoken publicly about the experience and what it meant for her sense of identity. “Nothing was guaranteed except that turning back was not an option,” she has said. “And that meant leaving behind my grandparents. As hard as it was, fleeing not only saved my life, it gave me a new one, in a place called America.”
That refugee experience became a foundation for both her journalism and her humanitarian work. She co-founded Help the Hungry in 2000, a nonprofit that provides food, medicine, and supplies to impoverished communities. Every year, she travels to Vietnam with her family to deliver aid directly.
Betty Nguyen’s Full Career in Broadcast Journalism
Nguyen’s broadcasting career has spanned nearly three decades and touched almost every major news network in the country.
She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism. Her first job was at KWTX-TV in Waco, Texas, where she worked as a reporter and morning news anchor.
From there, she moved to KTVT-TV, the CBS affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth, where she anchored for six years and won a regional Emmy Award for Outstanding Noon Newscast in 2003.
- CNN (2004 to 2010). Nguyen joined CNN and anchored the weekend edition of CNN Newsroom. During her six years at the network, she covered some of the most significant stories of the decade, including Hurricane Katrina and the 2006 South Asian tsunami. CNN’s coverage of both events earned Peabody Awards and an Alfred I. duPont Award, honors that Nguyen shared as part of the reporting team.
- CBS News (2010 to 2013). At CBS, Nguyen anchored CBS Morning News, co-anchored CBS This Morning Saturday, and served as a correspondent for The Early Show. She covered the 2012 Presidential election, the death of Osama bin Laden, the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. She also appeared as a special correspondent for Entertainment Tonight during this period, covering events such as the Academy Awards.
- NBC News and MSNBC (2013 to 2017). Nguyen anchored Early Today on NBC and First Look on MSNBC. She contributed reporting to the Today Show and Morning Joe, covering the 2016 Presidential election, the Boston Marathon bombings, the election of Pope Francis, and the death of Nelson Mandela.
- WPIX/PIX11 (2017 to 2021). Nguyen moved to local New York television in 2017 as co-anchor of the PIX11 Morning News, a role she held until her departure in October 2021.
- CBS Miami/WFOR (2023 to present). Nguyen returned to CBS as the morning co-anchor at WFOR in Miami, where she currently works.
Betty Nguyen’s Historic Recognition as a Pioneer in Television News
In 2007, the Smithsonian Institution honored Nguyen as the first Vietnamese-American to anchor a national television news broadcast in the United States. The recognition came during the Smithsonian’s “Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon” exhibition, where Nguyen hosted the gala event.
That distinction carries weight. When Nguyen arrived at CNN in 2004, there were very few Vietnamese-American faces on national television news. Her presence in the anchor chair on a major cable network was a visible milestone for a community that had arrived in the U.S. largely as refugees in the decades following the Vietnam War.
In 2015, Nguyen was inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame. She has also received the Outstanding Young Texas Ex Award from her alma mater (2008) and created the Betty Nguyen Scholarship in Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2007, which supports students pursuing broadcast journalism careers.
Her awards include two Peabody Awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award, and multiple Emmy Awards across different stages of her career.
Betty Nguyen’s Personal Life and Family
Nguyen is married to Anthony-Joseph DiMatteo, a senior financial analyst. The couple has two children.
In July 2015, Nguyen announced her pregnancy with her first child. She has kept additional details about her children private, consistent with a pattern she has maintained throughout her career of separating her public professional life from her private family life.
What she has been open about is her connection to Vietnam. Through Help the Hungry, the nonprofit she co-founded, Nguyen returns to Vietnam regularly with her family. The organization delivers food, medicine, and humanitarian supplies to communities in need. It is a direct extension of her own family’s experience as refugees, and she has described the work as one of the most meaningful parts of her life.
Career Timeline at a Glance
| Year(s) | Role |
|---|---|
| 1974 | Born in Saigon, South Vietnam |
| 1975 | Family flees Vietnam during the Fall of Saigon |
| 1980 | Becomes a naturalized U.S. citizen |
| Mid-1990s | Graduates magna cum laude from University of Texas at Austin |
| Late 1990s | First job at KWTX-TV, Waco, Texas |
| 1998 to 2004 | Anchor at KTVT-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth (Emmy Award) |
| 2000 | Co-founds Help the Hungry nonprofit |
| 2004 to 2010 | CNN anchor (Peabody Awards, duPont Award) |
| 2007 | Honored by Smithsonian as first Vietnamese-American national TV anchor |
| 2010 to 2013 | CBS News anchor and correspondent |
| 2013 to 2017 | NBC News/MSNBC anchor (Early Today, First Look) |
| 2017 to 2021 | PIX11 Morning News co-anchor (WPIX, New York) |
| October 2021 | Leaves WPIX |
| February 2023 | Named morning co-anchor at CBS Miami (WFOR-TV) |
| 2023 to present | Morning news co-anchor at CBS Miami |
FAQs
Where is Betty Nguyen now?
Betty Nguyen is currently working as the morning news co-anchor at WFOR-TV (CBS Miami) in South Florida. She joined the station in February 2023 and co-anchors the weekday morning broadcast from 4:30 to 7 a.m. alongside Keith Jones.
Why did Betty Nguyen leave WPIX?
Neither Nguyen nor WPIX publicly explained the reasons for her departure in October 2021. The station’s website updated her bio to reflect that she had left. She resurfaced approximately 16 months later when she was hired by CBS Miami.
Is Betty Nguyen the first Vietnamese-American national news anchor?
Yes. In 2007, the Smithsonian Institution recognized Nguyen as the first Vietnamese-American to anchor a national television news broadcast in the United States.
Is Betty Nguyen married?
Yes. Nguyen is married to Anthony-Joseph DiMatteo, a senior financial analyst. The couple has two children.
What is Help the Hungry?
Help the Hungry is a nonprofit organization co-founded by Betty Nguyen in 2000. It provides food, medicine, and humanitarian supplies to impoverished communities, with a particular focus on Vietnam. Nguyen and her family travel to Vietnam annually to deliver aid.
What awards has Betty Nguyen won?
Nguyen’s career honors include two Peabody Awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award, and multiple Emmy Awards. She was also inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame in 2015 and received the Outstanding Young Texas Ex Award from the University of Texas at Austin in 2008.
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