Rudi Bakhtiar

Infobox_Celebrity
name = Rudi Bakhtiar


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birth_date = Birth date and age|1966|6|21|mf=y
birth_place = Fresno, California, United States
death_date =
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occupation = Journalist
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Rudi Bakhtiar (born Rudabeh Bakhtiar, PerB| رودابه بختیار , on June 21, 1966 in Fresno, California) is an Iranian-American journalist who has over a decade's experience working for major international news outlets CNN and Fox News Channel.

Career

Rudi Bakhtiar joined FOX News Channel (FNC) as a general correspondent in January 2006, and held that role until July 2007. Prior to joining FNC, Bakhtiar worked for nine years at CNN, joining the network in 1996. During her time at the network, she held multiple positions, including anchoring on the CNN's spin-off network, Headline News, and as a co-anchor of "CNN Student News", a 30-minute commercial free news program designed for use in the classroom. Throughout her cable news career, she has reported on assignments from numerous countries, in addition to anchoring the start of coverage of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Prior to working as a news anchor, Bakhtiar worked at a pharmaceutical company doing pharmaceutical sales. [cite web | title = TV Anchor | url=http://www.girlsoffoxnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/0607rudi5.jpg| accessdate = 2007-02-27] cite web | last = Tartakoff | first = Joseph | title = CNN Anchor Speaks to Persian Society | publisher = The Harvard Crimson | date = 2004-05-10 | url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=502519 | accessdate = 2007-02-27]

In 2008, Bakhtiar became the first Director of Public Relations for the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA), an organization dedicated to building an inclusive and representative voice in the public and political arena for Iranian Americans. [cite web | last = | first = | title = Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans Launches Nationwide | publisher = Payvand | date = 2008-04-30 | url=http://www.payvand.com/news/08/apr/1307.html | accessdate = 2008-05-01]

Personal life

By age two, her family moved from Fresno, California to Los Angeles, California. When she was five years old, her family moved back to Iran. Bakhtiar was raised in Iran until the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Her family moved back to the United States when she was seventeen years old cite web | last = Johnson | first = Marilyn | title = CNN Anchor Rudi Bakhtiar | publisher = Iran-va-Jahan | date = 2002-08-17 | url = http://www.iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news_en.pl?l=en&y=2002&m=08&d=17&a=6 | accessdate = 2007-02-27] . She loved to ride horses as a child. Other hobbies include whitewater rafting, waterskiing, scuba diving, snow skiing, horseback riding, tennis, yoga, rock climbing, tae kwon do, and oil painting in her downtime. [cite web | title = CNNfyi | url=http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/fyi/interactive/teacher.resources/launch.newsroom.bios/rudi/frameset.exclude.html | accessdate = 2007-02-27] ] , [cite web | last = Lorrie | first = Lynch | title = Celebs | publisher = USA Weekend Magazine | date = 2003-11-30 | url=http://www.usaweekend.com/03_issues/031130/031130whosnews.html | accessdate = 2007-02-27]

She attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she received a Bachelor of Science in biology, planning to be a dentist; she was accepted to New York University Dental School, but had reservations about going to dental school. [cite web | title = Introducing Rudi Bakhtiar | publisher = Fox Fan Central | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,186977,00.html | accessdate = 2007-02-27] In addition, she studied architecture at the Career Discovery Program at the Harvard School of Design.

Recognition

In 2002, Bakhtiar received the Iranian American Republican Council Achievement Award in recognition of outstanding achievements, excellence and accomplishments within the Iranian American community.

In Washington DC, December 4, 2003, Bakhtiar was the Mistress of Ceremonies for the Iranian American Technology Council Gala [cite web | title = NIAC | url=http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:HehF6XJ8eNgJ:www.niacouncil.org/pressreleases/press141.asp+site:www.niacouncil.org+Bakhtiar&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us | accessdate = 2007-02-27] .

On February 15, 2004, Bakhtiar was the Mistress of Ceremonies (MC) for a Bam earthquake fundraiser that also honored US disaster assistance response teams. The event was organized by the House of Iran (a cultural organization support Iranian culture and traditions), with NIAC, IACA, Science and Arts Foundation, and IAPAC as the supporting organizations. [cite web | title = NORTHERN VIRGINIA FUNDRAISER AND AWARD CEREMONY HONORING HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS AT BAM | url=http://www.niacouncil.org/events/events.asp | accessdate = 2007-02-27]

Bakhtiar was also the Mistress of Ceremonies for the University of California, Irvine lecture given by Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, on May 21, 2005. [cite web | title = Shirin Ebadi Lecture | date = 2005-05-21 | url=http://www.parstimes.com/gallery/ebadi_irvine/ | accessdate = 2007-02-27] cite web | title = Center for Citizen Peacebuilding | url=http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~cpb/Ebadi.ram | format = Real Audio | accessdate = 2007-02-27]

Family

She was born to Iranian immigrants of Bakhtiari heritage; her father died of oropharyngeal cancer in 2005 [cite web | last = Goodman | first = Tim | title = All the dirt on sci-fi shows and D.C. dramas Rudi Bakhtiar's absence on CNN strongly felt | publisher = San Francisco Chronicle | date = 2005-10-26 | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/26/DDGP4FDDE81.DTL | accessdate = 2007-02-27] . Bakhtiar has a younger brother and younger sister. Shapour Bakhtiar is Rudi Bakhtiar's father's uncle, the last Prime Minister of Iran under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and a great aunt of Bakhtiar's was the Shah of Iran's second wife (Soraya Esfandiary). Bakhtiar's great-grandfather is named Sardar Jang.

Trivia

*According to Lycos, Rudi Bakhtiar was ninth ranked in the top twenty TV news personalities with the most searches from January through August 2002. [cite web | last = Schatz | first = Aaron | title = Top TV News Personalities | date = 2002-09-16 | url= http://50.lycos.com/091602.asp | accessdate = 2007-02-27]
*Bakhtiar loves MLB's New York Yankees and NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. [cite web | last = Wright | first = Todd | title = Women of AllNight: Rudi Bakhtiar | date = 2005-06/15 | url=http://espn.go.com/espnradio/rudibakhtiar.html | accessdate = 2007-02-27]
*Rudi Bakhtiar has been photographed by fashion photographer Michael David Adams.

References