Allison Rosati
Allison Rosati | |
|---|---|
| Born | Allison Kay Rosati February 12, 1963 |
| Nationality | Italian American |
| Education | Pine City High School |
| Alma mater | Gustavus Adolphus College (cum laude) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 1985-present |
| Television | KTTC (1985-1987) WGRZ-TV (1987-1990) WMAQ-TV (1990-present) |
| Partner | Dr. Lee Dennis (married 1993) |
| Children | 4 |
Allison Rosati (born February 12, 1963) is the 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscast co-anchor for WMAQ-TV in Chicago.
Early life
Rosati was born in Dover, Delaware and grew up in Pine City, Minnesota. Her father is of Italian descent, while her mother was of Finnish descent. In 1980, She is crowned as Minnesota Junior Miss but a year later in 1981, she was repensented the State of Minnesota in the 1981 America's Junior Miss pageant, she's receiving a 'Spirit of Junior Miss' award alongside Idaho Junior Miss Kelly Jo Kreisher. She attended Gustavus Adolphus College where she studied speech and communications. She graduated in 1985 and received cum laude.
Rosati started her career in Rochester, Minnesota in 1985. KTTC-TV hired her as a general assignment reporter and less than a year later, promoted her to producer and co-anchor of the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts. Rosati later went to WGRZ-TV in Buffalo, New York and anchored the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts at WGRZ. Rosati also did general assignment reporting. She was host of First Thing in the Morning when she first came to WMAQ in 1990. During her morning tenure, Rosati co-hosted "Chicago Live" along with Warner Saunders from 1991 to 1992. Five years later in 1995, she began anchoring the early evening news. And in May 1997 following the controversial hiring of Jerry Springer as commentator and the resignations of Ron Magers and Carol Marin, Rosati was promoted to co-anchor of NBC 5’s 10 p.m. newscast. In August 1998, Rosati dropped from their Early Evening Newscast in order to concentrate on its short-lived hourlong daytime program NBC 5 Chicago Daytime alongside Nesita Kwan and Byron Miranda, but later they canceled it in 1999 due to low ratings. In April 1999, Rosati was promoted to co-anchor of NBC 5's 6 p.m. newscast after Joan Esposito left the station. In addition, Rosati also hosted the weekly segment Wednesday's Child from its inception in 1999 until their final report in 2005. In 2000, she was named host, co-creator and co-executive producer of half-hour special series MomTV. Later in September 2006, Rosati and Saunders were promoted to anchors of 5 p.m. newscast, displacing Bob Sirott and Marion Brooks which still anchoring the 4 p.m (later 4:30) newscasts and for a short time during the football season of 2006, Rosati and Saunders anchored the 10 p.m. Sunday Newscast. After Saunders' retirement in 2009, Rob Stafford was selected Rosati's co-anchor in the NBC 5 evening newscasts.
Community Work
Rosati volunteers for many Chicago-area organizations, such as Amate House, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the Infant Welfare Society, the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the Children’s Home + Aid, the Ronald McDonald House, and the March of Dimes. She has also helped Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, by sitting on the board of directors.
Recognition and awards
- Chicago Emmy Award for her role as host in "NBC 5 Presents: Millennium 2000," 2000
- Named "Woman Of The Year" by the Italian American Police Association, 2001
- Dante Award from the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, 2001
- Department of Health and Human Services Adoption Excellence Award from U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson, 2002
- National Emmy for the "Survive Alive" Station Project and Fire Prevention special
- Excellence in Communications Award from the Justinian Society of Chicago
- David Award for "Achievement in Broadcasting"
- First Decade Award from Gustavus Adolphus College
- Distinguished Alumni award from Gustavus Adolphus College
- Spirit of Love Award from The Little City Foundation of Palatine, 2003
- Humanitarian Of The Year award from the Italian American Police Association, 2004
- Media Person of the Year award from the Italian American Chamber of Commerce Midwest Chapter, 2005
- Gracie Award for her role as host in "Smart Choices, Safe Kids" Documentary special, 2006
- “For the Love of Children” award from Children’s Home + Aid, 2005
- Woman of the Year from Casa Italia Chicago, 2012
- Mary Ellen Nolan Guardian Angel Award from Amate House in Chicago, 2016
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Magical World of Disney | Herself (WGRZ anchor) | Episode: "Mickey's 60th Birthday" |
| 1994 | ER | Herself (Anchor; uncredited) | Episode: "Blizzard" |
| 2000 | Mom TV | Herself (host) | also co-creator and co-executive producer |
| 2006 | Smart Choices, Safe Kids | Herself (host) | |
| 2013 | Journey to a Miracle: Freedom from Insulin - Pilot | Herself (host) |
Personal Life
Rosati was married to radiologist Dr. Lee Dennis in a traditional Roman Catholic wedding ceremony on March 20, 1993 at the Holy Name Cathedral. Rosati and Dennis has 4 kids including Nicholas Lee Dennis (born July 18, 1994), Stephen Dennis (born October 15, 1996), Katherine Mary Dennis (born June 16, 1998) and Kristen Allison Dennis (born April 7, 2001) and a dog named Apollo. They currently live in Burr Ridge, Illinois.
External links
- NBCChicago.com biography
- Allison Rosati on Facebook
- Allison Rosati at IMDb
- Allison Rosati on Twitter
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