’60 Minutes’ Icon Lesley Stahl Has Deep Roots in Massachusetts

Lesley Stahl has been a respected television journalist for over 50 years, most of that time with the CBS television network.

Did you know it all began for Stahl right here in Massachusetts?

Lesley Rene Stahl was born on December 16, 1941, in Lynn, Massachusetts and was raised in Swampscott. She had a younger brother named Jeffrey.

People reported in 1977, "Their father (Louis E. Stahl) is a wealthy Jewish food company executive, their mother (Dorothy Tishler Stahl) an unproduced screenwriter."

Stahl graduated with honors in 1963 from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, majoring in history. According to People, Stahl studied zoology at Columbia.

In 1967, Stahl joined NBC News as a researcher with the election unit. Her broadcasting career began in Boston in 1971 with WHDH-TV, the original Channel 5, as a producer and on-air reporter. The following year, she joined CBS News and moved to Washington.

Stahl served as CBS' White House correspondent through three presidencies and has been a correspondent at 60 Minutes since 1991, hosted 48 Hours, and served as moderator for Face the Nation. Her big break came covering the Watergate scandal that ended the presidency of Richard Nixon.

Get our free mobile app

Stahl has been married twice. She and her second husband, writer Aaron Latham, had a daughter Taylor in 1977. Latham died in 2022 due to complications from Parkinson's Disease.

Stahl told Hadassah Magazine her two grandchildren are "the loves of my life."

The author of two books, Stahl has appeared in several television shows and movies, including as herself in an episode of Frasier. Stahl received several journalism awards, including the Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in Television.