What 10 famous news anchors looked like before and after they made it big

Cooper has won several awards through his career, including an Edward R. Murrow Award in 2006, a GLAAD Media Award in 2008, and eight Emmy Awards. Cooper's 2006 memoir on covering war and violence, "Dispatches from the Edge," became a New York Times bestseller.

Couric began her journalism career as an assistant at ABC before joining NBC as a reporter and becoming co-anchor of the "Today" show.

Already a household name, Couric was named the first solo female anchor of "CBS Evening News" in 2006, and in 2012 she became host of the ABC talk show "Katie."

After 12 years in local news, Williams joined NBC News as a national correspondent in 1993 before being named Chief White House Correspondent and anchoring "The News with Brian Williams," which was broadcast on MSNBC and CNBC.

In February 2015, Williams was suspended for six months from NBC Nightly News after it was found that he "misrepresented events which occurred while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003," and on June 18, 2015, he was demoted to breaking news anchor for MSNBC.

Sawyer moved to Washington, DC in 1970 where she worked in politics before joining CBS News as a general assignment reporter in 1978. In 1984, she became the first female correspondent on the network's "60 Minutes," and further solidified her status as a household name on ABC News' "Primetime Live," "20/20," and "Good Morning America."

Sawyer currently remains with the network for special projects and reports.

Gregory went on to serve as White House correspondent during George W. Bush's presidency where he covered the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also covered the 2000, 2004, and 2008 presidential campaigns.

Other landmark stories Gregory covered include the trials of OJ Simpson and the Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, the impeachment of President Clinton, and the death of Pope John Paul II.

Source: American University

Almost two decades after he was first hired as a reporter in 1981, Holt joined NBC News in 2000 and has since covered landmark events including Operation Iraqi Freedom. the war in Afghanistan, the 2010 Arab Spring uprising, and Nelson Mandela's 2013 funeral.

Holt has been recognized with multiple Emmy Awards, a place on TIME's 100 "Most Influential People" list, The Hollywood Reporter's "Most Powerful People in New York" list, and "Journalist of the Year" by the National Association of Black Journalists.

After years at local CBS affiliates, Brzezinski joined CBS News as an anchor, where she notably covered the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks live.

After working with "CBS Sunday Morning" and "60 Minutes," Brzezinski was fired and joined MSNBC in 2007.

Carlson went on to work as a reporter at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and The Weekly Standard, which he joined in 1995 before working as a columnist for outlets including Esquire, The Weekly Standard, The New Republic, The New York Times Magazine, and The Daily Beast.

After establishing himself as a fiery conservative voice, Carlson joined Fox News in 2009.

Tapper covered a range of topics for ABC including Hurricane Katrina and the war in Afghanistan before he was named Senior White House Correspondent on November 5, 2008. Tapper anchored ABC's "This Week" from March to July 2010, until he was replaced by Christiane Amanpour.

In 2012, Tapper was named CNN's chief Washington correspondent and in 2013, Tapper was named anchor of CNN's "The Led with Jake Tapper."

Wallace's stepfather was CBS News President Bill Leonard, who secured him a gig when he was 17 as Walter Cronkite's assistant at the 1964 Republican National Convention.

After attending Harvard, Wallace worked at the Boston Globe before moving into broadcast at New York's WNBC-TV in 1975 and serving as NBC's Chief White House correspondent from 1982-1989, during which he covered the 1980, 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns.

Wallace became a household name in his time moderating "NBC Nightly News" from 1982-1984 and 1986-1987 and "Meet the Press" from 1987-1988.

After he left NBC, Wallace spent 14 years at ABC, where he was the senior correspondent for "Primetime Thursday" and a substitute host for "Nightline."