Mary Louise Kelly

Mary Louise Kelly is a mother, a daughter, a wife, a journalist and a novelist. The order of these titles—the order by which she defines herself—might shift, depending on which moment you catch her. But since 2003, when her first child was born, “Mom” has been the name she is proudest to answer to.

When not driving soccer carpool, Kelly co-hosts All Things Considered, NPR’s flagship evening newsmagazine. Previously, she spent a decade as national security correspondent for NPR News, and she’s kept that focus in her role as anchor. That’s meant taking All Things Considered to Russia, North Korea, Iran, Ukraine and beyond. Kelly’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Newsweek, and other publications. A Georgia native, her first job was working as a staff writer at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Kelly’s books have been translated into more than dozen languages. She is a recipient of the Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award from the Radio Television Digital News Foundation, a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation and the Award for Outstanding Broadcast Journalist from the Washington Women in Journalism Awards. She led the NPR team that was named Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2021, for on-the-ground reporting from Iran.

Kelly was educated at Harvard University and at Cambridge University in England.