Norah Morahan O’Donnell was born on January 23, 1974, in Washington, D.C., to a physician and U.S. Army officer father. Her family relocated frequently, including a two-year posting in Seoul, South Korea. She attended Douglas MacArthur High School in San Antonio before earning a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Georgetown University in 1995. She later completed a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies at Georgetown in 2003. 

O’Donnell began her journalism career as a staff writer at Roll Call, covering Congress. She then spent over a decade at NBC News as a White House and Chief Washington Correspondent. Her work spanned NBC Nightly News, Today, and Dateline NBC. In 2011, she joined CBS News as Chief White House Correspondent before becoming co-anchor of CBS This Morning from 2012 to 2019. 

In July 2019, O’Donnell made history as only the second woman to solo-anchor CBS Evening News, after Katie Couric. She anchored nearly 1,300 broadcasts over six years, conducting landmark interviews with Pope Francis and every living U.S. president. She stepped down on January 23, 2025, transitioning to senior correspondent. Currently, she contributes to 60 Minutes and has hosted CBS’s debate series, Things That Matter.