In the fast-paced world of cable news, where soundbites often take over, Alicia Menendez is a journalist who doesn’t just report the news—she gives a voice to people that mainstream media often ignores. The 42-year-old Harvard-educated anchor, commentator, and author has made a name for herself at MSNBC, where her sharp analysis and dedication to hearing from a variety of points of view have made her a rising star in broadcast journalism. Menendez’s career path shows a mix of sharp intelligence, cultural awareness, and unwavering support for Latino and immigrant communities. He has hosted weekend primetime shows and co-anchored weekday slots.
Early Life and Education: A Background in Politics and Diversity
Menendez was born Alicia Jacobsen Menendez on July 2, 1983, in Union City, New Jersey. She grew up in a family that was very involved in public service and had a lot of cultural diversity. Her father, Bob Menendez, is a U.S. Senator from New Jersey who has been in office for a long time and is of Cuban descent. Her mother, Jane Jacobsen, is a teacher who is of German, Norwegian, and Irish descent. Menendez grew up Catholic with her brother Robert Menendez Jr., who is now a U.S. Congressman. She was involved in politics from a young age, but she chose her own path, focusing on storytelling instead of partisanship.
Menendez went to Harvard College and got a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2005. Her senior honors thesis looked at women’s social capital and got good reviews from U.S. News & World Report and The New York Times. She even gave the speech at the undergraduate commencement, which shows how well she could speak and lead at a young age. These early years set the stage for a career focused on fairness and representation, which would be the main themes of her professional life.
A career with many sides: from being a digital pioneer to an MSNBC anchor
Menendez’s path into the media was anything but normal. She started out as a segment producer and on-air contributor for RNN TV in New York, where she learned how to work in fast-breaking news situations. She showed off her digital skills early on by co-hosting Power Play on Sirius XM’s Cristina Radio and writing for NBCLatino.com. She and Adriana Maestas started DailyGrito.com in 2011. It was a Latino-focused site about politics and media that was bought by Politic365.com the next year.
Menendez was a pioneer in nonprofit media. She co-founded Define American with journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, Jake Brewer, and Jehmu Greene. The group uses stories to make immigration issues more relatable and push for changes, which shows how much she cares about the issue. She also worked as a Senior Advisor at NDN, a center-left think tank, and used her work with Rock the Vote and Democracia USA to push for getting more people from underrepresented groups to vote.
Menendez’s big break in broadcasting came when she was one of the first eight hosts and producers of HuffPost Live. She interviewed famous people and newsmakers there and co-anchored hours of live coverage during the 2012 Election Night and the Boston Marathon bombing aftermath. In 2013, she became the host of Alicia Menendez Tonight, a nightly news and pop culture show on Fusion TV. The show won a Gracie Award for Outstanding Talk Show in its first year. She made specials like “Generation in Crisis,” which reported from El Salvador, Rwanda, and a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. She also co-moderated the 2016 Iowa Brown and Black Forum, where she grilled Democratic candidates on issues that were important to Latino and African-American voters.
By 2018, Menendez had moved to PBS as a correspondent for Amanpour & Company, where she brought her unique depth to global issues. She started working for MSNBC as a weekend anchor in October 2019. She started American Voices with Alicia Menendez in September 2020. It was a two-hour Saturday and Sunday primetime show from 6 to 8 p.m. ET that focused on stories that weren’t getting enough attention and voices that weren’t being heard enough. The show became a place for groundbreaking interviews, like the first time Keldy Mabel Gonzáles Brebe de Zúniga, a mother who was separated from her children because of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, sat down with an English speaker. Menendez also reported from Uvalde, Texas, after the Robb Elementary School shooting and on Latino voters in important battleground states during the 2020 and 2022 elections.
In November 2023, she moved to weekend mornings. Starting January 13, 2024, she will co-anchor The Weekend with Symone Sanders-Townsend and Michael Steele. This format of working together let her mix analysis with friendship. She talked about a wide range of topics, from cultural events like Bad Bunny’s Grammy performance to the bigger effects of immigration policy on American identity. As of February 24, 2025, Menendez and her co-hosts moved to weekdays and took over Joy Reid’s The ReidOut at 7 p.m. ET on MSNBC. This move is a brave step forward that puts her at the center of primetime talk.
Menendez is a contributing editor at Bustle and the creator and host of the popular Latina to Latina podcast, which has become a key part of celebrating Latina excellence through personal conversations. The Likeability Trap: How to Break Free and Succeed as You Are, a best-selling book from 2019, is the best example of her writing skills. It talks about the double standards women face at work and gives tips for how to be successful without changing who you are.
Personal Life and Challenges: Dealing with Family in the Public Eye
Menendez’s personal life is just as strong as her work life. She married Carlos PrÃo Odio in Coral Gables, Florida, in 2015. Carlos PrÃo Socarrás, PrÃo’s grandfather, was Cuba’s president from 1948 to 1952. This adds another layer of historical depth to her family’s story. The couple, who used to live in Miami, moved to New Jersey with their two kids. They were able to balance their high-profile careers with their family.
In September 2023, when her father was charged with federal corruption crimes, including bribery and extortion related to Egypt, public interest grew. Menendez showed journalistic integrity by not covering the story on American Voices. She started her September 30 broadcast by openly admitting to the conflict. In the end, Bob Menendez was found guilty of a crime, which has cast a shadow over the family. Menendez has handled it with grace, focusing on her work instead of talking about her personal life.
A Content Queen Making the Story Her Own for the Future
Elle called her “Broadcast Journalism’s New Gladiator,” The Washington Post called her “Ms. Millennial,” and Marie Claire called her a “Content Queen.” Menendez is a perfect example of how journalism has changed over time. Her ability to move between TV, podcasts, books, and activism has brought stories from the fringes to the center, questioning the status quo in a media world that is very divided.
Menendez keeps pushing the envelope as she co-hosts MSNBC’s new 7 p.m. slot. Recent interactions on X (formerly Twitter) show that she is friendly and helpful: She celebrated her coworkers’ achievements, such as Akayla Gardner’s reporting role at the White House, and graciously accepted praise from legal experts like Elizabeth de la Vega, who called her a “national treasure.” Even though things are getting intense, she still seems like a real person with her summer hair experiments and fan shoutouts.
Menendez’s path suggests that he will have an even bigger impact in the future. In a time when we need real voices, she reminds us that stories that connect, challenge, and change are the most powerful. Alicia Menendez is not only hosting the conversation about representation in American media; she is also changing it.
