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Don Lemon

  • Full Name: Donald Carlton Lemon
  • Gender: Male
  • Date of Birth: 1966-03-01
  • Nationality: American
  • Ethnicity: African American, Black
  • Sexual Orientation: Gay
  • Marital Status: Married
  • Career Start: 1996
  • Estimated Salary: $4 million — $7 million
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Profile Overview

Don Lemon is an American journalist, political commentator, and one of the most prominent openly gay TV presenters. He attended Louisiana State University and later graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in broadcast journalism. His early career included local anchor and investigative reporter roles in Birmingham, St. Louis, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

Lemon later joined NBC News in New York, reporting for Today and NBC Nightly News and anchoring Weekend Today. In 2003, he became a reporter and co-anchor at WMAQ in Chicago. He joined CNN as a correspondent in September 2006 and began piloting primetime shows in 2014. He soon became the permanent host of CNN Tonight, retitled Don Lemon Tonight in 2021.

In 2022, Lemon co-anchored the new morning show CNN This Morning with Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow. CNN fired him in April 2023, following which he announced the launch of The Don Lemon Show for X in January 2024. After X canceled the partnership, he continued the show independently on YouTube. 

Education

  • Baker High School (Baker, Louisiana)
  • Attended Louisiana State University
  • Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism from Brooklyn College (1996)

Dating & Marriage

  • Marriage: Tim Malone from 2024 to (New York real estate agent. They met in 2016, and Lemon announced their engagement in 2019.)

Children

    Net Worth & Income

    • Income earned from his role as a CNN anchor from 2006 to 2023, estimated at 4–7 million a year at its peak.
    • Reportedly received $24.5 million as settlement of his remaining CNN contract. CNN called the report incorrect, so it is not counted as confirmed.
    • Royalties from his published books: Transparent (2011) and This Is the Fire (2021).
    • Income from the independent The Don Lemon Show, which had about 1.4 million YouTube subscribers as of September 2026.

    Shows

    CNN Newsroom

    Awards

    • Edward R. Murrow Award — Coverage of the capture of the D.C. snipers (2002)
    • Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award — Business feature, "Life on Craigslist" (2006)
    • Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award — Reporting on HIV/AIDS in Africa, "Journey to Africa" (2006)