In October 2011, Ward joined CBS News as a foreign correspondent. She reported on the Syrian uprising, contributing to 60 Minutes with a 2012 segment filmed in Aleppo—one of the earliest televised reports highlighting the rise of Islamic extremism in Syria. She returned to the country in October 2014 to interview two Westerners who had joined jihadist groups, offering insights into radicalization.
In September 2015, Ward joined CNN and was based in London. She was appointed Chief International Correspondent in July 2018. Speaking about her role, she emphasized the importance of reliable reporting in contemporary journalism: “It’s more important than ever to double down on reporting that informs viewers and allows them to make better decisions about the world around them. It’s a more confusing world these days.” She added, “It doesn’t matter how remote a story is; if it’s big, we will be there and we will go hard on it.”
Ward married Philipp von Bernstorff, a German count and businessman, in November 2016. The couple first met at a dinner party in Moscow in 2007. Their wedding was a modest ceremony held at their home in Notting Hill, London, with just 46 guests. She purchased her dress only six days before the event from a department store.
The couple welcomed their son, Ezra Albrecht Nikolas Nour von Bernstorff, on March 2, 2018.
Throughout her career, Ward has received numerous awards in recognition of her reporting. Her early reporting on the Syrian uprising earned her a George Foster Peabody Award in 2012. In 2015, she was honored with the Murrow Award for International Reporting by Washington State University.
In 2016, the International Center for Journalists awarded her the Excellence in International Reporting Award for her outstanding work from Iraq and Syria. Additionally, she has received five Emmy Awards, with one specifically recognizing her 2017 special report “Undercover in Syria.” That same year, she received the David Kaplan Award from the Overseas Press Club for the same report.
Ward’s international reporting has been bolstered by her language skills. She is fluent in French and Italian, conversational in Russian, Arabic, and Spanish, and has basic proficiency in Mandarin.
She remains active on social media, engaging audiences with breaking news and behind-the-scenes insights. She has over 44,000 followers on Twitter (@clarissaward) and shares additional content on Facebook (@ClarissaWardCNN) and Instagram (@clarissawardcnn), where she documents both professional assignments and personal experiences.
Return to the previous page| Height: | 5 feet 11 inches |
| Date of Birth: | January 30, 1980 |
| Nationality: | British |
| Birth Place: | New York City, NY |
| Spouse: | Philipp von Bernstorff (m. 2016) |
| Education: | Yale University |
| Net Worth 2021: | 1 million |
