Lisa Ling was born on August 30, 1973 in Sacramento, California. Ling attended USC but left before she finished her degree to enter the professional sphere as one of the youngest reporters at Channel One News. The now award-winning journalist and executive producer grew up idolizing Connie Chung, a trailblazing and successful Asian American female journalist. She became particularly interested in journalism after visiting Taiwan with her mother, where she explored her family’s cultural heritage roots. Ling reported on the Afghanistan War when she was 21 and went on to be a co-host on ABC’s The View, a host on National Geographic Ultimate Explorer, a political correspondent for the College Television Net, a contributing editor at USA Today and a writer for The New York Times wire service. Her most recent and notable achievements include being executive producer and host on OWN’s Our America with Lisa Ling and now hosting her own news program, This is Life, on CNN. Ling has knocked down gender, race and class barriers to create an exceedingly impressive career focused on telling the stories of all types of people across America.