News reporter Laura Jarrett has two children and shares them with her husband Tony Balkissoon. Her family has played a major role in her success. Let’s meet her son, James and daughter, June.
For anyone who isn’t aware, Laura Jarrett was formerly working as an attorney. However, she felt she was in the wrong career and made a switch to pursue her dream of becoming a TV-news legal analyst.
With no TV experience, Laura says she began “knocking on doors of local news stations.” She was willing to start at the bottom. CNN was the first network to bite.
She has since been famous for her work as a political reporter for CNN.
After six years with CNN, Laura joined NBC News as a senior legal correspondent in January 2023. Seven months later, Laura was announced as co-host of Saturday TODAY, replacing Kristen Welker who was named moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press.
Laura began her new role on Sept. 9., alongside Peter Alexander.
On screen, she is a senior legal correspondent for NBC News but at home, she is ‘Laura’ to her husband and ‘mom’ to her children.
After her TV appearances each morning, Laura will “rush home” to make breakfast for her kids before continuing the work day, she said.
But who are her children and what are their names and ages? Read on for more about her personal life.
How many children does Laura Jarrett have?
Political news anchor Laura Jarrett is a mother of two. She has a son and a daughter whose names are James Anthony Balkissoon, 4, and June Tahay Balkissoon, 13-month.
Jarrett shares her children with her husband, Tony Balkissoon.
Laura Jarrett, known to many as the co-anchor of Saturday TODAY and a respected senior legal correspondent for NBC News, is married to Tony Balkissoon for over a decade.
Laura and Tony met as second-year law students at Harvard University in 2008, and tied the knot in 2012.
“Tony and I waited a while before we had children, which I think was super valuable because we just got to have fun. Kids are wonderful, but they can be extremely taxing on marriages,” Laura says. “We had a ball just the two of us for a long time and I think that really set us up for success.”
Read on to learn more about Laura’s two children:
James Anthony Balkissoon, 4
James Anthony Balkissoon born in 2019, is the first child between news reporter Laura Jarrett and her husband Tony Balkissoon.
James is a “ham and a half,” according to his mother.
“That boy takes over a room. He just has a presence,” Laura says. “He talks nonstop and has 1001 questions about everything.”
The preschooler also has a wide variety of interests, including Sudoko puzzles.
“I was trying to help him the other day and I was getting the answers wrong! He’s already smarter than me,” Laura jokes.
“We’ll be at the park on the swing, and he’ll ask me to give him math problems,” she continues. “It’s fun for him — he’s super brainy — but I’m worried people are going to be judging me, like, ‘Why is this mom putting her son through math drills?”
As a baby, James was “so hard,” Laura says.
“He cried constantly. I’d take him on walks and he would cry. I would take him in the car and he would cry. He was exhausting,” she recalls. “I couldn’t wait for maternity leave to end. I was like, ‘Get me back to work!’”
Thankfully, James is much easier these days. Laura says life got easier when he started talking and could express what he was feeling. Lately, James has been vocal about his baby sister, June, stealing his toys.
“At first, he was very gentle and doting and also immediately interested in making her bottles,” Laura says. “But now that she’s starting to crawl and walk — she’s in his stuff and he’s not happy!”
On TODAY, Laura’s husband Tony shared that James is “very proud” to see his mom on TV and how hard she works.
“I just watch her tell the news to everybody,” James said, when asked about Laura’s job.
June Tahay Balkissoon, 13 months
June Tahay Balkissoon is the daughter and second child of Laura Jarrett and her husband Tony Balkissoon.
She was born on July 17, 2022, is named after Laura’s mother, Valerie June Jarrett, and Tony’s mother, Tahay.
“If I could have drawn up James’s polar opposite, it would be June,” Laura says. “There could be chaos and utter destruction going on around her and she’’d be quietly playing and laughing.”
The toddler is “completely enthralled and entertained” by her big brother.
“I sit them next to each other while they’re eating dinner — James in his big chair, and June in her highchair —and she’s just petting his head,” Laura says. “She adores him.”
June also loves food.
“She will literally eat anything and be happy about it. If she gets cranky, it’s because you have food and you’re not sharing with her,” Laura says. “You can hand her a Sichuan green bean and she’s down.”
