Heather Nauert Bio
Heather Anne Nauert (born January 27, 1970) is an American broadcast journalist and former government official. She is best known for serving as Spokesperson for the United States Department of State from April 2017 to April 2019, and as Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs from March 2018 to April 2019. Before entering government, she spent nearly two decades as a news anchor and correspondent for Fox News Channel and ABC News, where she covered major global events including the September 11 attacks, the Iraq War, and multiple U.S. presidential elections. A member of the Republican Party, Nauert was also briefly announced as President Donald Trump’s nominee to become United States Ambassador to the United Nations in late 2018 before withdrawing her name from consideration in February 2019.
Early Life and Background
Heather Anne Nauert was born on January 27, 1970, in Rockford, Illinois, and grew up spending much of her childhood in nearby Wisconsin. She is the daughter of Peter Nauert, an executive in the insurance industry, and has three brothers named Justin, Jonathan, and Joseph. The family background shaped her Midwestern upbringing, and her father’s long career in business provided a stable home environment during her early years.
She attended Keith Country Day School in Rockford, Illinois, where she completed her secondary education. After high school, she landed an internship in Washington, D.C., hosting a country music video program, and decided to remain in the capital to finish her studies. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Mount Vernon College for Women, and later received a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, a credential that would prove foundational for her future career in broadcast news.
Path to Government Service
Heather Anne Nauert’s path to government began with more than eighteen years of high-profile work in broadcast journalism. Her long career in television news gave her wide visibility, experience handling breaking stories, and relationships with political figures from both parties. These connections and her on-air profile drew the attention of senior officials in the Trump administration as they searched for a communications leader at the State Department.
In April 2017, the United States Department of State announced that Nauert would become the new State Department Spokesperson, marking her first role in government. She held her first press briefing five weeks later, on June 6, 2017, and quickly became a familiar face in the briefing room and on television. Her rapid rise in the foreign policy establishment reflected both her media experience and the administration’s preference for communicators who were already comfortable in front of the cameras.
Heather Nauert Career
Early Career (1996–2005)
Heather Anne Nauert began her broadcast career in 1996 as a reporter for the syndicated business program First Business. The following year, in 1998, she joined Fox News Channel, first serving as a contributor for three years and then as a correspondent for four years. During this period she contributed regularly to programs such as The Big Story and covered major domestic and international stories for the network.
She left Fox News in 2005 to join ABC News, where she worked as a general assignment reporter for two years. While at ABC, she contributed to flagship programs including ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and Nightline, and earned an Emmy nomination for her in-depth piece on teenage girls in Iraq as part of the special series 13 Around the World. Her assignments in this period took her to conflict zones, including Baghdad, Fallujah, and Irbil, where she covered the Iraq War, Saddam Hussein’s trial, and the first free elections in the country.
Fox News Breakthrough (2007–2017)
Heather Anne Nauert returned to Fox News in 2007, co-hosting the weekday edition of The Big Story with John Gibson alongside Steve Lacy. In 2012, she rejoined Fox News Channel full time as an anchor and breaking news reporter, becoming a regular presence on the morning program Fox & Friends. Her morning show appearances made her one of the most recognizable faces on the network, and she used the platform to cover four U.S. presidential elections, Republican and Democratic conventions, a presidential inauguration, and the 2008 financial crisis.
During her time at Fox News, Nauert was dispatched to cover major breaking events, including the terrorist attacks in Boston, Orlando, and San Bernardino. She also returned repeatedly to the Middle East, with reporting trips to Iraq in 2004, 2006, and 2007, and on-air she provided viewers with hourly and daily updates from conflict zones. Beyond news, she made cameo appearances as herself on the fictional television programs 24 and Brother’s Keeper, and her account of the September 11 attacks was documented in the book “At Ground Zero: 25 Stories from Young Reporters Who Were There.”
State Department Era (2017–2019)
On April 24, 2017, the United States Department of State announced that Heather Anne Nauert would become the new State Department Spokesperson. In this role, she conducted regular press briefings and oversaw communications and public diplomacy for a 75,000-person department and nearly 300 U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide. She reported directly to two secretaries of state, Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo, and traveled extensively on senior diplomatic missions.
Following the dismissal of Under Secretary Steve Goldstein on March 13, 2018, Nauert was named acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, the fourth-ranking position in the State Department. In that capacity she oversaw a budget of approximately $1.2 billion and nearly 1,000 employees, and she became the department’s highest-ranking woman while continuing to serve as Spokesperson. Her work included supporting the maximum pressure sanctions campaign against North Korea, holding China accountable for actions in the South China Sea, and combating state-sponsored disinformation from Russia, China, and Iran. In May 2018, she accompanied Secretary Pompeo on a secret mission to North Korea, helping bring home three American hostages held in a Pyongyang prison.
Notable Events and Milestones
One of the defining moments of Heather Anne Nauert’s government career was her participation in the May 2018 mission that secured the release of three Americans wrongfully detained in North Korea, an outcome that The Washington Post reported helped set the stage for the landmark June 2018 summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. On December 7, 2018, President Trump announced that he would nominate her to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations, praising her as “excellent.” Citing family considerations, she withdrew her name from consideration on February 16, 2019, and the nomination was never formally sent to the Senate.
Heather Nauert Career Wins
Heather Anne Nauert’s career is marked by a series of high-profile achievements in both journalism and government, though her work has primarily been in newsrooms, press rooms, and diplomatic settings rather than in competitive election or award-based fields. Her public recognition has come from sustained on-air work, a senior government appointment, and the trust placed in her by two U.S. secretaries of state.
Broadcast Journalism Highlights
During her nearly two decades in broadcast journalism, Heather Anne Nauert covered four U.S. presidential elections, multiple party conventions, a presidential inauguration, and the 2008 financial crisis. She anchored coverage of the September 11 attacks from New York City and of subsequent terror attacks in Boston, Orlando, and San Bernardino. She also earned an Emmy nomination while at ABC News for her reporting on teenage girls in Iraq.
Other Achievements
After leaving public office, Heather Anne Nauert joined several boards for leading national security and international relations organizations. In 2019, President Trump appointed her to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and to the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships. She later served on the Board of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, the advisory board of the Center for New American Security, and the advisory board of BGR Group, a Washington, D.C. government relations firm. Since 2021 she has also served on the National Advisory Board of Warriors in Quiet Waters, a Montana-based veterans service organization.
Heather Nauert Family
Family Background and Upbringing
Heather Anne Nauert was raised in a Midwestern household headed by her father, Peter Nauert, an insurance industry executive. She grew up with three brothers, Justin, Jonathan, and Joseph, and spent much of her childhood in Wisconsin after being born in Rockford, Illinois. The family environment emphasized education and professional achievement, which influenced her pursuit of a communications degree at Mount Vernon College for Women and later a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University.
Personal Life
Heather Anne Nauert has been married to Scott Norby since 2000, and the couple has been based in New York. Outside of her professional life, she has continued to support causes related to veterans and national security, including her ongoing advisory work with Warriors in Quiet Waters. She has also been involved with Task Force Pineapple, a volunteer group of former military and government officials who worked to help vetted Afghan allies reach safety during the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.