Geraldo Rivera

Geraldo Rivera’s first marriage was with Linda Coblentz from 1965–69. After divorcing her, Rivera went on to marry painter Edith Vonnegut in 1971. He divorced Vonnegut in 1975.

He then married Sherryl Raymond on December 31, 1976. The couple had one son Gabriel Miguel before separating in 1984. Rivera’s fourth marriage was with Cynthia Cruickshank “C.C.” Dyer. The couple had two children.

Since 2003, Rivera has been married to Erica Michelle Levy. They have one daughter named Sol Liliana.

Geraldo Rivera was born as Gerald Michael Rivera on July 4, 1943 in New York City, New York, as the son of Cruz, a cab driver, and Lillian, a restaurant worker. His father came from a Catholic family while his mother was of Jewish descent. His brother Craig Rivera grew up to be a television journalist and producer.

He grew up in Brooklyn and West Babylon where he studied at West Babylon High School. From 1961 to 1963, Rivera attended the State University of New York Maritime College. After this, he studied at the University of Arizona, eventually graduating with a B.S. degree in business administration.

He then did a number of odd jobs before enrolling at the Brooklyn Law School in 1966. During his time there, Rivera held internships under the Harlem Assertion of Rights and the legendary crime-fighter Frank Hogan who was the New York County District Attorney at that time. He received his J.D. in 1969.

He then attended a Reginald Heber Smith Fellowship program at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He later went on to become an attorney for the Young Lords, a Puerto Rican activist group.

In 1970, Geraldo Rivera began working with WABC-TV as a reporter for Eyewitness News. He then started appearing on ABC’s ‘Nightline’ and ‘20/20’ in 1972. Around this time, he began hosting ABC's late night newsmagazine program ‘Good Night America’ as well and also served as an executive producer of the show.

He hosted ‘The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults’ on April 21, 1986. This 2-hour special broadcast was watched by millions of people.

In 1987, Rivera started hosting the talk show ‘Geraldo’ which ran for eleven years. The show featured controversial personalities which led to the show being deemed as "Trash TV" by two United States senators as well as Newsweek. Despite the criticism it received, it proved to be a popular show.

In 1988, the American talk show host did a show about Satanism and interviewed satanic themed murderer Charles Manson. The same year, he interviewed some Jewish activists, white supremacists, and antiracist skinheads on another show.

From 1994 to 2001, Geraldo Rivera hosted CNBC’s ‘Rivera Live,’ an evening news and interview show. After leaving CNBC in November 2001, he went on to become a Fox News war correspondent. During this time, he reported on the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq conflict.

Geraldo Rivera came into the limelight in early 2003 when he was travelling as a reporter with the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq. He kindled controversy when he suddenly began to disclose an upcoming operation during a Fox News broadcast. Rivera was severely criticized for his actions and was ultimately expelled from Iraq.

In 2005, the journalist became involved in a dispute with ‘The New York Times’ over their accusations that he pushed aside a member of a rescue team so as to be filmed "assisting" a lady in a wheelchair in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Later, Rivera demanded a retraction from the newspaper and also threatened to sue them if one was not provided.

In 2007, Geraldo Rivera was involved in a feud with his Fox colleague Michelle Malkin. The conflict arose between the two when Rivera made some insulting statements on Malkin in a Boston Globe interview. He had commented that she was the most hateful commentator he had ever met in his life. Rivera had added that he would spit on her if he saw her. However, he later apologized for his derogatory comments.

In the aftermath of the shooting death of African American teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012, Rivera commented a few times on Martin's hoodie and how that hoodie was connected to his death. He later apologized for the same.