Nina Totenberg Biography
Nina Totenberg is a popular American broadcast radio journalist who is currently the NPR legal affairs correspondent. She focuses mostly on the activities and politics of the Supreme Court of the United States. Nina’s reports air regularly on NPR’s news magazines All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition.
From 1992 until 2013, she served as a panelist on the syndicated TV political commentary show Inside Washington. Nina is considered one of NPR’s “Founding Mothers” together with Susan Stamberg, Linda Wertheimer, and the late Cokie Roberts. She has received several broadcast journalism awards due to both her explanatory pieces and her scoops. During Nina’s time at the National Observer, she covered legal affairs.
In 1971, she covered a story about a secret list of candidates President Richard Nixon was bearing in mind for the Supreme Court. Afterward, she wrote a National Observer profile of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who wrote a long letter to the paper’s editor demanding Nina be dismissed. Rather, the editor printed the letter in the Observer together with a rebuttal of Edgar’s complaints concerning the article. She later served for the New York City-based news magazine New Times.
Quick Facts
| Age | January 14, 1944 (80 years old) |
| Salary | $86,980 per year |
| Book | Dinners with Ruth |
| Husband | H. David Reines (m. 2000) |
| Sisters | Amy Totenberg and Jill Totenberg |
Nina Totenberg Age
Nina was born on January 14, 1944, in New York City, New York, in the United States. She is 80 years old. Nina celebrates her birthday on January 14, every year.
Early Life And Education
Nina was born in Manhattan, New York City, to her parents Melanie Francis (Eisenberg) and Roman Totenberg. Her dad Roman was a Polish-American violinist who resided in Poland, Moscow, Berlin, and Paris, before formally immigrating to the U.S. in 1938. Roman died on May 8, 2012, aged 101.
Nina’s mother Melanie worked as a real estate broker. She has two sisters Amy Totenberg a judge, and Jill Totenberg a businesswoman. For her education, Nina attended Boston University in 1962, majoring in journalism, but dropped out less than three years afterward due to, in her words, she “wasn’t doing brilliantly”.
Nina Totenberg Husband
Nina is married to her husband H. David Reines. Her husband works as a trauma surgeon and is the vice chairman of surgery. Their wedding was in 2000 at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia. Previously, in 1979, Nina married lawyer and politician Floyd Haskell. Nina and Floyd Haskell remained married until his demise in 1998 aged 82.
Husband Accident
In 1994 Nina’s late husband Floyd Haskell suffered a cerebral hemorrhage following falling on ice near his home in Washington. Floyd Haskell died of pneumonia in 1998, at age 82, while returning from a vacation in Maine with her.
Nina Totenberg NPR
She serves as NPR’s award-winning legal affairs correspondent. Nina’s reports air regularly on NPR’s critically acclaimed news magazines All Things Considered, Morning Edition, as well as Weekend Edition. She was hired by Bob Zelnick to work at National Public Radio in 1975 and has been there since. Her coverage of the Supreme Court and legal affairs has given her widespread recognition.
Nina covered a report about Anita Hill a Law Professor at Oklahoma University who alleged sexual harassment by Judge Clarence Thomas. NPR earned the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award due to its gavel-to-gavel coverage.
Book
On September 13, 2022, Nina published her book titled Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships. This book is an exceptional account of two women who paved the way for future generations by dismantling professional and legal hindrances.
Health
In 2000, during her honeymoon, Nina was treated by H. David Reines for severe injuries after she was struck by a boat propeller while swimming.
Young
Nina was born in Manhattan, New York City, the eldest daughter of Melanie Francis (Eisenberg), who worked as a real estate broker, and Roman Totenberg a violinist. Her dad was a Polish Jewish immigrant, who lost several of his family members in the Holocaust. Her mom was of German Jewish and Polish Jewish descent, from an upper-class family that had resided in San Francisco and New York City.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Nina had a nice friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The two met in the 1970s and remained pears until RBG died in 2020. In 2020, just following the demise of Justice RBG, Nina revealed additional details of the 48-year-long friendship she had with RBG in an obituary. Nina’s deeply personal nature of their friendship was not widely recognized by NPR viewers until she released the obituary. Later, Nina was criticized for not revealing the friendship.
Height
Nina is a woman of average stature who stands at a height of 5 ft 6 in (approx. 1.68 m).
Salary
As an NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent, Nina’s average salary is $86,980 per year.
Net Worth
Nina has been a legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio since 1975. She has garnered a decent fortune over the years. Nina’s net worth is $3 million.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Old is Nina Totenberg?
Nina is an 80-year-old who was born on January 14, 1944, in New York City, New York, in the United States.
Is Nina Totenberg Married?
Since 2000, Nina has been married to H. David Reines.
Who Is Nina Totenberg?
Nina is a broadcast radio journalist who is known for having acted as a legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio. She formerly worked as a journalist with Boston Record American. Nina’s work specifically covered the politics of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Social Media Handles
Twitter – @NinaTotenberg
Instagram – nprninatotenberg