Claudia Coffey is an Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 winning American broadcast journalist. She is the co-anchor of WHAS11's

WHAS-TV

WHAS-TV channel 11 is the ABC affiliated television station in Louisville, Kentucky. Owned by Belo Corporation, the station's transmitter is located in Floyd County, Indiana, near the community of Floyds Knobs...

 News At 4 in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

. Coffey also writes the popular Coffey Talk blog on whas11.com, which is known for showcasing charitable events and causes around Louisville.

Career

Coffey’s TV career began with ABC affiliate WABG

WABG-TV

WABG-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Delta area of Northwestern Mississippi that is licensed to Greenwood. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter northeast of Inverness. The station can also be seen on Suddenlink channel 4 and in high...

 in Greenville, Mississippi

Greenville, Mississippi

Greenville is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 48,633 at the 2000 census, but according to the 2009 census bureau estimates, it has since declined to 42,764, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. It is the county seat of Washington...

 in 1997, as the host of Good Morning Mississippi. She worked as a reporter at KARK

KARK-TV

KARK, virtual channel 4, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central Arkansas that is licensed to Little Rock. Owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group, the station is sister to MyNetworkTV affiliate KARZ-TV and the two share studios on West Capitol Avenue in Downtown Little Rock one block...

 in Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

 and WVUE, in New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 before being hired in 2003 as the 4:30 p.m. anchor and 10 p.m. reporter for WTMJ-TV

WTMJ-TV

WTMJ-TV, digital channel 28 ; branded as "Today's TMJ4", is the NBC-affiliated television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the flagship station of the Journal Broadcast Group. Its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin and parts of northeastern Illinois, including Racine, Kenosha,...

, the NBC affiliate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

. While there, she extensively covered the 2004 presidential election

United States presidential election, 2004

The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...

. She interviewed Howard Dean

Howard Dean

Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...

, John Kerry

John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

 and John Edwards

John Edwards

Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...

 as they crossed the hotly contested battleground state.

Coffey joined WTTG

WTTG

WTTG, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, located in the American capital city of Washington, D.C...

, the Fox

Fox Broadcasting Company

Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

-owned and operated station in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 in 2006, where she was a fill-in news anchor and reporter. While at WTTG, Coffey won a regional Emmy Award for her coverage of the alleged White House party crashers

2009 U.S. state dinner security breaches

On November 24, 2009, Michaele and Tareq Salahi , a married couple from Virginia, and Carlos Allen , attended a White House state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, allegedly without being invited guests. The Salahis and Allen arrived separately and did not appear to have colluded in...

, Michaele and Tareq Salahi

Tareq Salahi

Tareq Dirgham Salahi is a former American vintner and former public official. He and his wife, Michaele, gained national attention in November 2009 by allegedly crashing a White House state dinner in honor of India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh...

. Following her Emmy win, Coffey was also featured in the Diane Dimond

Diane Dimond

Diane Dimond is a television journalist, reporter and host. She is best known for her work as a correspondent on Hard Copy, Extra, and Entertainment Tonight.-Career:...

 book on the infamous couple called Cirque Du Salahi. She also covered the election and inauguration of President Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 and Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

’s historic visit to the United States. Her stories often appeared on Fox News

Fox News Channel

Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...

 and Coffey has filled in as a substitute correspondent in the DC Bureau and as the live reporter for the Fox affiliate groups across the US.

Also while in Washington, D.C., Coffey worked as a freelance correspondent for CBS Newspath

CBS News

CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...

, covering several major national and international news stories, including the nomination of Chief Justice John Roberts

John Roberts

John Glover Roberts, Jr. is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States. He has served since 2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist...

, President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

's 2006 State of the Union address, the Iraq War and the congressional hearings on the federal response to Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

.

Coffey was hired by WHAS-TV

WHAS-TV

WHAS-TV channel 11 is the ABC affiliated television station in Louisville, Kentucky. Owned by Belo Corporation, the station's transmitter is located in Floyd County, Indiana, near the community of Floyds Knobs...

 in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

 in April 2010, where she still works today.

Coffey has interviewed many prominent celebrities, including pop star Britney Spears

Britney Spears

Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...

, actors Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller

Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....

, Owen Wilson

Owen Wilson

Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...

, and Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks

Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...

, director Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg

Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...

, and Airplane!

Airplane!

Airplane! is a 1980 American satirical comedy film directed and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and released by Paramount Pictures...

writers David and Jerry Zucker,. She was co-host of The Travel Channel

Travel Channel

The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...

's coverage of Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras

The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...

, alongside former Night Court

Night Court

Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...

star Harry Anderson

Harry Anderson

Harry Laverne Anderson is an American actor and magician.-Early life:Born in Newport, Rhode Island, Anderson was a street magician before becoming an actor.-Career:...

.

Film

Coffey appeared as a news reporter in the 2003 movie Runaway Jury

Runaway Jury

Runaway Jury is a 2003 American drama/thriller film directed by Gary Fleder and starring John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz...

starring Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman

Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...

 and Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....

. Coffey can be soon be seen as a reporter in the upcoming movie Shadow People

Shadow people

Shadow people are supernatural shadow-like humanoid figures that, according to believers, are seen mostly in peripheral vision and move quickly...

starring Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood

Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...

’s daughter, Alison Eastwood

Alison Eastwood

Alison Eastwood is an American film director, Hollywood actress, fashion model, and fashion designer. She made her directorial debut with Rails & Ties , starring Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden.-Early life and education:...

.

Education

Claudia Coffey graduated with honors from Assumption High School

Assumption High School

-Canada:*Assumption College School , Brantford, Ontario*Assumption Secondary School, Burlington, Ontario*Assumption Junior Senior High School, Cold Lake, Alberta*Assumption College Catholic High School, Windsor, Ontario-United States:...

 in Louisville, Kentucky. She earned her B.A from Indiana University

Indiana University

Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

 with a double major in Political Science and Journalism. She graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University

Georgetown University

Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

 where she earned her Master’s in International Relations.

Personal life & activism

Coffey is a mother of one son, Jack, who is afflicted with Long QT Syndrome

Long QT syndrome

The long QT syndrome is a rare inborn heart condition in which delayed repolarization of the heart following a heartbeat increases the risk of episodes of torsade de pointes . These episodes may lead to palpitations, fainting and sudden death due to ventricular fibrillation...

, a rare heart condition in which delayed repolarization of the heart following a heartbeat increases the risk of episodes of irregular heartbeat. Coffey produced a widely acclaimed news special about the syndrome for WHAS. Reaction to the story of teen athletes and undiagnosed heart conditions and the need for automated external defibrillators

Automated external defibrillator

An automated external defibrillator or AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of...

 in all schools led Coffey to launch a website, claudiacoffeyheartproject.org.

Awards

In July 2010, Louisville Magazine

Louisville Magazine

Louisville Magazine is a magazine distributed in the Louisville area and is titled with just the name Louisville. It covers local business and culture.-History:...

named Coffey the “Critic’s Choice “ for Best Weekend TV Anchor. In August 2011, the reader’s of The Voice Tribune honored Coffey with the award for “Best Dressed of Louisville” at the newspaper’s annual event. In September 2011, Coffey appeared on the cover of Today’s Woman magazine detailing her journey in television news, the passion she has for her hometown and the thrill of being a mother.