Abby Phillip Biography
Abigail Daniella Phillip is the host of CNN’s NewsNight with Abby Phillip. She is a former CNN Senior Political Correspondent and host of Inside Politics Sunday with Abby Phillip. She is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and a board member of the News Literacy Project
Her journalism career began while studying at Harvard where she wrote for the school’s magazine The Crimson. She wanted to become a heart surgeon, but later discovered she hated the lab. Her first experience with journalism was after joining the staff of the Crimson, she went on a school-sponsored public service trip through Tennessee and Mississippi, tracing events of the civil rights movement she really loved the experience.
After graduating, she joined Politico as a White House reporter and blogger covering campaign finance issues and lobbying. She then joined The Washington Post as a general assignment reporter and was then promoted to national political reporter covering the White House. She left in October 2017
Abby later joined ABC News as an ABC News Fellow in New York and then was a digital reporter for the network in Washington, covering politics. She has written and produced stories for ABC News programs including This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Nightline, and ABCNews.com.
In addition to being a journalist, she served as a production consultant for HBO Max series The Girls On The Bus, which focused on women political reporters on a presidential campaign trail.
Abby Phillip Education
Abby attended Bowie High School where she was a violinist in the orchestra and a member of Tri-M Music Honor Society. She then joined Harvard to study pre-med but later switched to Bachelor of Arts in Government.
Abby Phillip Age & Heritage
Abby was born on November 25, 1988 in Alexandria, Virginia to her Trinidandian parents. She is of Trinidad and Tobago heritage. Her parents moved to D.C. so that her father could attend Howard University. They returned to Trinidad for a few years before moving back to Germantown, Maryland when Abby was in third grade. They later settled in Bowie.
Abby Phillip Family
Abby is the daughter of June C. Phillip and Carlos W. Phillip of Bowie, Md. Her father, Carlos is a school psychology manager and educator specializing in clinical supervision and developmental disabilities. Her mother is a Realtor and real estate investor with Fairfax Realty. She was brought up alongside her five siblings.
Abby Phillip Husband
Abby married her husband Marcus Glenn Richardson on May 26, 2018 at the Anderson House, a historic home and museum in Washington. Marcus is a cyber security professional working as the principal cloud security architect at Cloud Security Partners. He is also the founder and principal of Oak Keep consulting.
The couple first interaction was back in 2011 at a party hosted by mutual friends on a rooftop in Washington D.C.’s Chinatown neighborhood. Neither of them knew many people at the party and they ended up engaging in a conversation talking about their their love of languages, music, travel, and food. They were interruoted by a woman and didn’t exchange their contacts. Marcus thought the woman was Abby’s friend and was trying to save her from the situation but it turned out Abby didn’t even know her.
Fate brought them back together as a month later, the same friend threw another party and they both attended and a week later they began dating. In 2016, after moving to a new apartment Marcus proposed as they were hosting their families for Christmas.
Abby Phillip Baby
Abby gave birth to her daughter Naomi Angelina Richardson on August 16, 2021. Her first name ‘Naomi’ means ‘pleasant one’ while her middle name ‘Angelina’ is a tribute to Abby’s maternal grandmother who passed away in 2014.
Abby Phillip CNN
Phillip is the host of CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip and a former CNN’s senior political correspondent and host of “Inside Politics Sunday”. She joined the network in 2017 as a White House Correspondent.
In January 2021, she replaced John King as the anchor of the weekend edition of Inside Politics on the Sunday morning version of the political talk show. In August 2023, she began anchoring CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip ending her tenure as CNN’s Senior Political Correspondent.
Career Highlights
- She hosted CNN Special Report documentary Kamala Harris: Making History in January 2021, which focused on the Vice President’s groundbreaking career and the childhood experiences that helped shape her modern approach to politics.
- In January 2020 at the age of 31, she co-moderated the seventh Democratic presidential debate in Iowa.
- She anchored special coverage of the 2020 Presidential Election Night in America, which lasted several days.
Awards and Recognition
- In January 2025, her show NewsNight with Abby Phillip was nominated for TWO NAACP Image awards; Outstanding Host in a Talk or News/Information program and Outstanding News/Information program.
- In 2024, she won a National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) Vision Awards for the documentary “Homebirth Journey: Saving Black Mom.”
- In 2021, she was named the Time 100 Next list and was also awarded the National Urban League’s Women of Power award.
Controversies
In January 2020, while moderating a debate between the Democratic presidential candidates she asked Senator Bernie Sanders to address a CNN report that claimed he told Senator Elizabeth Warren that he did not believe a woman could win the presidency. Bernie said he never said that and instead of Abby dropping the matter she turned to Elizabeth Warren asking, “What did you think when Senator Sanders told you a woman could not win the election?”
Many commentators felt that she should just dropped it after Bernie’s denial but to her defense she said, “If we reported something about Donald Trump, confirmed by multiple sources we would stand by that reporting. I don’t think it’s any different when it’s Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. I think about this a lot. Democrats, in particular, will have to figure this out. If Democrats will believe reporting from us about Donald Trump, they should believe our reporting about Bernie Sanders.”
Abby Phillip Ratings
According to CNN’s press room , Abby’s show NewsNight with Abby Phillip (10p), was ranked as CNN’s most watched program among P25-54 for the third consecutive month in April 2025. It also grew by double-digit margins year-over-year among both demos (P25-54: +31%, 103k to 135k; P2+: +12% 510k to 573k).
FAQ’s
How Old is Abby Phillip; 36 years old
Abby Phillip Parents Nationality; Trinidad and Tobago
Is Abby Phillip Hair Real; Yes
Abby Phillip Salary; $300,000 annually.
Abby Phillip Panel Members; Panel members vary but consists of political analysts, commentators and fellow journalists.