Brad Edwards Biography
Brad Edwards is the Primary Anchor and Storyteller for CBS News Chicago, the station’s streaming channel. He also serves as a CBS 2 Investigator along with Dave Savini, Dorothy Tucker, Dana Kozlov, and Megan Hickey. Previously, he anchored CBS 2’s weekday evening newscasts at 5, 6, and 10 p.m. with Irika Sargent from 2019 to 2022.
Brad Edwards Age
How old is Brad Edwards? Brad is 42 years old as of 2023. He was born in 1981 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States.
Brad Edwards Height
His height is 6 feet 1 inches tall, approximately 1.85 meters or 185 centimeters.
Brad Edwards Nationality
He holds American nationality.
Brad Edwards Education
Edwards attended Michigan State University graduating in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Telecommunications.
Brad Edwards Parents
Brad is the son of the late collegiate football and basketball referee Don “Animal” Edwards and his wife Francine. Don, who passed away from cancer in 2005 at 61, starred at Central Michigan University from 1962-66 and set 24 school records his senior year. He played for the Grand Rapids Tackers, went on to teach physical education at Grand Rapids Creston for over 35 years, and later taught at GRCC. He also served as a Division I football and basketball official and even ran in the Boston Marathon.
Brad was raised by his parents alongside his brother Matt Edwards, who is a Big Ten official.
Brad Edwards Wife
Who is Brad Edwards married to? Brad is currently single. He is also gay. He came out at age 20 to his parents as gay.
Previously, Brad was in a romantic relationship with Ginger Zee which Zee detailed in her 2017 memoir. He met Zee, who would go on to forecast weather at WMAQ-Ch. 5 and “Good Morning America while working at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids. They dated for 18 months and Brad calls her his “first love” and says they remain close friends. Zee is now married with two kids while Brad is single and hopes to marry someday. He also resides in Chicago.
Brad Edwards CBS News Chicago
Edwards leads CBS News Chicago. He took that assignment in May 2022 when the station announced: “Brad Edwards has been named Primary Anchor and Storyteller for CBS News Chicago, the station’s streaming channel. In this newly created role, Edwards will lead CBS Chicago’s live streaming coverage of breaking news on the 24/7 platform and head up a team to produce impactful, ground-breaking long-form stories and documentaries for the service.”
Prior to that role, he anchored CBS 2’s weekday evening newscasts at 5, 6, and 10 p.m. with Irika Sargent [2019-22]. Edwards also serves as a CBS 2 Investigator along with Dave Savini, Dorothy Tucker, Dana Kozlov, and Megan Hickey.
In 2021, Edwards won the nation’s top broadcast writing award: the National Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Writing. This adds to Edwards’ cache of more than 100 awards, which includes more than a dozen other Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. His exposé on Chicago’s broken water billing system — Getting Hosed — won Emmy Awards in 2019, ’20, and ’21, and the 2020 RTDNA / NEFE award for Personal Finance Reporting.
His work has led to new policies and prosecutions, has reunited families, and helped free a woman serving a 50-year prison sentence for a crime she didn’t commit. In Detroit, his year-long inquiry into the Wayne County morgue led to the burial of dozens of indigent souls, and the fast-tracking of funding for a massive facility expansion. In 2021, Illinois instituted two new state laws following a revelatory investigation by Edwards and his team. The statutes protect the identities of sex abuse victims after Edwards’ series showed a deeply disturbing pattern of unfettered public access to such information.
Prior to joining CBS2 Chicago in 2012, Edwards anchored and reported in Detroit; Indianapolis; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Lansing, Michigan. At each station, The Associated Press named him Reporter of the Year.
Edwards served as an adjunct professor at Columbia College of Chicago. He’s been on the Board of Directors at the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago (2017-2021), Devices 4 the Disabled (2020-present), and serves as CBS 2 Chicago’s SAG-AFTRA Steward.
Brad Edwards Illness
Edwards is battling a rare form of blood cancer and few people in his professional life know he has this disease — “I don’t want it to be a pity party” — he says. He was diagnosed with large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia. It is a chronic disease, and those who have it may also have rheumatoid arthritis and anemia. Edwards however, said he doesn’t suffer from those conditions, but he does have an unusually low number of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell the body uses to fight off bacterial infections.
In order to cope with the disease, Edwards gets his blood drawn every 8 to 12 weeks, follows a healthy eating plan, exercises regularly, and adheres to a medication regimen.
Brad Edwards Salary
He earns an average annual salary ranging between $45,000 to $110,500.
Brad Edwards Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth ranging between $1 million to $5 million as of 2023.
