Gayle King

Gayle King was married to William G. Bumpus, an attorney and former assistant attorney general in Connecticut, from 1982 to 1993. They have two children, a daughter named Kirby and a son named William Bumpus Jr.

King's daughter Kirby is also listed as Kirby Lynette King Bumpus. Oprah Winfrey is Kirby's godmother.

King began her broadcasting career as a production assistant at WJZ-TV in Baltimore. While working there, she met Oprah Winfrey, then an anchor for the station's evening news. The two became close friends in 1976.

King later trained as a reporter at WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C., before moving to Kansas City, Missouri, where she worked as a weekend anchor and general-assignment reporter at WDAF-TV. In 1981, she became a news anchor at WFSB in Hartford, Connecticut, where she worked for 18 years.

She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, with degrees in sociology and psychology. King joined O, The Oprah Magazine as an editor in 1999 and later served as an editor-at-large.

King briefly co-hosted the NBC daytime program Cover to Cover with Robin Wagner in 1991. Her syndicated program The Gayle King Show ran for one season in 1997-1998, and she later revived the title for XM Satellite Radio in 2006 and Oprah Winfrey's OWN network in 2011.

In January 2012, King became co-anchor of CBS This Morning, working alongside Charlie Rose and a series of other co-anchors, including Norah O'Donnell. The program later became CBS Mornings, where King continued as co-anchor. She has also worked as a special correspondent for Good Morning America and as a host and correspondent on numerous CBS News specials.

King received recognition for maintaining her composure during a 2019 CBS interview with R. Kelly. She also publicly called for CBS to be transparent about the findings of its investigation into sexual-abuse and harassment allegations at the network.

In 2023, King began co-hosting the CNN weekly primetime program King Charles with Charles Barkley. The show ended the following spring while King continued her role on CBS Mornings.

King has appeared as herself in scripted productions including The Manchurian Candidate, The Boss, Queen & Slim, Being Mary Jane, 30 Rock, Queen Sugar, The Game, and Billions. Her television work also includes hosting specials such as The Queen Carries On: A Gayle King Special, Her Majesty The Queen: A Gayle King Special, and Cicely Tyson in Her Own Words.

King was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 2018 and was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2019. She received a News and Documentary Emmy nomination for CBS This Morning's coverage of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting, and the program won an Outstanding Live News Special Emmy in 2022.

On April 14, 2025, King flew on Blue Origin's NS-31 mission under the New Shepard program. The all-female crew included Katy Perry, Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe, Kerianne Flynn, and Lauren Sánchez. King and Sánchez became the first female journalists to fly to space.