Don Lemon is an award-winning journalist and former anchor of the long-running CNN primetime program, Don Lemon Tonight as well as CNN This Morning.  He has won a variety of distinguished awards for his work which has spanned nearly three decades, including an Edward R. Murrow award, multiple Emmys and a Peabody award, among others. In addition to CNN, Lemon has served as an anchor and correspondent at the NBC and MSNBC television networks, as well as at local stations in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis.

Lemon has covered countless global breaking news stories from the anchor desk, as well as on location, including the war in Ukraine (for which he received a Peabody award in 2022), the death of Osama Bin Laden, the inaugurations of the 44th and 45th Presidents of the United States, the school shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Newtown, Connecticut, and the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, George Floyd and Tyre Nichols.  He joined CNN as a correspondent in 2006.

Lemon has been honored with countless awards not only for his journalism, but also for the impact his work and influence have made on society.  He was voted one of the 150 most influential African Americans by Ebony magazine in 2009. In 2014, The Advocate included him as one of the publication’s 50 Most Influential LGBTQ People in Media. In December 2016, Lemon was honored with a Native Son Award, named after James Baldwin, recognizing and to “encourage the increased visibility and impact of black gay men in society.” In 2017, Out named him to its Power 50 list of the Most Influential LGBTQ People in the USA.  And in June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, New York, Queerty named him one of the Pride 50 “trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people.”

Lemon is also a best-selling author. In 2011, he broke barriers by revealing that he was gay in his auto-biographical book Transparent.  A decade later, in 2021, his book This is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism, debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list.  It was inspired by what he saw, learned and felt about the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

Lemon graduated from Brooklyn College with a BA in broadcast journalism.  He lives in New York City with his partner and their three dogs.