Who Is Bobbie Wygant? How Many Awards Does She Have?

Bobbie Wygant: Bobbie Wygant, whose birth name was Roberta Connolly and who has been employed by NBC 5 for more than seven decades, is an American television news reporter, film critic, talk show host, and interviewer. She became well-known for her video chats with A-listers.

Where Was Bobbie Wygant Born And Raised?

Wygant, a granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Connolly, was born in Lafayette, Indiana. Gordon and Carl Connolly, her nephews, are her younger siblings. Wygant was 16 when his mother passed away from cancer. Though her mother was ill for a long time, she continued her studies full-time, and afterward, she cared for her father and brothers at home.

The loss of her mother changed her plans, and she decided against becoming a doctor. She became interested in television after visiting an experimental TV studio and performing in front of a camera at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. St. Francis High School and Purdue University alum Wygant earned degrees in broadcasting and psychology, respectively, in 1947.

She was involved with many groups on campus, including Alpha Epsilon Rho, Alpha Xi Delta sorority, Gold Peppers, Purdue Playshop, and the WBAA staff.

What Is Bobbie Wygant’s Net Worth?

As of 2022, Bobbie is expected to have amassed a net worth of $1.5 million. This pertains to all she owns, earns, and possesses monetarily. Her work as a journalist provides the bulk of her income. Bobbie has amassed considerable wealth from various sources but opts for a simple way of life.

How Did Bobbie Wygant Start Her Career?

In 1948, Wygant began her career as a journalist at KXAS-TV (then known as WBAP-TV) in Texas. It was just two weeks before the station went on air when she was hired. Starting, she wrote, “commercials, intros to shows, anything needed to be done.”

Wygant is a veteran employee of KXAS-TV.

In later years, she assisted on-camera hosts. In 1960, she sat in for the regular presenter for a week due to the flu and was rewarded with her own talk show, Dateline. On it, she spoke with a wide range of exciting people through interviews. As a result, she created history as the first woman in the southwestern United States to host a discussion show of this type.

After a change in station management in the mid-1970s, she started working in the news department. She frequently teamed up with Chip Moody to produce the interview and community event coverage program Inside Area 5. The local broadcast of The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon featured her beginning in 1977. [9] Wygant helped establish the National Society of Film Critics.

Talks with famous people Wygant has interviewed countless famous people during her time on television. Some examples are the Fab Four, Madonna, Bob Hope, and Bette Davis.

See Bobbie Wygant in person to sign a copy of her memoirs. Tomorrow in Dallas. pic.twitter.com/GZbT8HR9gD

— NBC DFW (@NBCDFW) January 19, 2019

For example, an actor’s most recent film may be the primary topic of discussion in an interview. She claims she handles all the background reading and independently prepares for an interview. Hollywood stars like Stanley Kramer and Dustin Hoffman have hailed her interview skills.

Who Is Bobbie Wygant’s Husband?

At 20, she wed Philip Warren Wygant in June 1947. They first met while she was employed by the radio station at Purdue, where he worked as the programming supervisor. After a long battle with liver disease, he passed away in April of 1986, at age 60.

They were both professionals and ran a tree plantation in east Texas in their spare time. They did not start a family right away. She released her book, Talking to the Stars: Bobbie Wygant’s Seventy Years on Television, at the beginning of 2019.

How Many Awards Does Bobbie Wygant Have?

Wygant has won several accolades on a local and statewide level, including the Texas Arts Alliance award for excellent coverage of the arts in 1978 and the Zonta Club of Fort Worth’s executive woman of the year award in 1980. The Critic’s Critic Award was given to Wygant in 2000 by the National Broadcast Film Critics Association.

In 2004, she was honored for her distinguished career in television by being inducted into the Emmy Gold Circle. She received the Alliance for Women in Media’s Gracie Award for Outstanding Reporter/Correspondent in 2014. After more than 50 years of continuous employment, she reduced her hours to part-time in 2002. She has been recognized as a Woman of Distinction by Alpha Xi Delta.