Christiane Amanpour's Domestic Frontier

Photograph by Adam Golfer

Christiane Amanpour in the living room of her New York City apartment.

After becoming one of the world's most recognizable faces (and voices) through 18 years of dispatches from war-torn hotspots all over the globe, Christiane Amanpour took on a new role when she assumed the anchor desk at ABC's "This Week" a year ago.

Born in Iran and raised in England, Amanpour came to the U.S. to study at the University of Rhode Island and in 1983 began work as a desk assistant at CNN, where she would remain for 27 years. She has been lauded for her impassioned reports from the Middle East, Africa and, most notably, the Balkans. The shift from international news to U.S. politics hasn't softened Amanpour's ideals.

Life on Two Fronts

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"I've never been an armchair journalist," she says. "The field is the authentic center of gravity of journalism." While she admits that anchoring makes her feel a little like a caged animal, she appreciates the opportunity to learn a whole new set of skills, such as selecting show guests, a task requiring her to juggle as many as 20 potential names each week.

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