Steve Kroft was born on August 22, 1945, in Kokomo, Indiana, to Margaret and Fred Kroft. He spent his formative years in Indiana, where he also completed his early education.
Kroft earned his bachelor's degree from Syracuse University in 1967. Decades later, in recognition of his distinguished career, he received the George Arents Medal, the highest honor given to a Syracuse University alumnus.
After graduating from Syracuse, Kroft was drafted into the United States Army and served in the Vietnam War. Upon completing his military service, he began his journalism career, which would span several decades and earn him national recognition.
Steve Kroft joined CBS News in 1980 as a reporter for the Northeast Bureau based in New York City. In 1981, he was promoted to correspondent and reassigned to the Southwest Bureau in Dallas. By 1983, he had moved to CBS's Miami bureau, where his reporting frequently took him to the Caribbean and Latin America. His coverage included key international stories such as the civil war in El Salvador and the U.S. invasion of Grenada.
In 1989, Kroft officially joined the staff of 60 Minutes, CBS’s prestigious investigative journalism program. Among his early groundbreaking assignments was his exclusive report from the contaminated grounds of the Chernobyl nuclear facility in 1990—the first such access granted to an American journalist. This piece earned him an Emmy Award.
Throughout his time on 60 Minutes, Kroft conducted many high-profile interviews. Notably, during the 1992 U.S. presidential election, he interviewed then-Governor Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, following allegations of infidelity. The interview became a pivotal moment in the campaign. In 1997, he interviewed Clint Eastwood and, in a bold move, asked the private actor about his children. Eastwood, caught off guard, responded evasively, highlighting Kroft’s fearless yet tactful interviewing style.
Kroft has received numerous prestigious journalism awards throughout his career. He is an 11-time Emmy Award winner, including a Lifetime Achievement Emmy awarded in 2003. He has also won five Peabody Awards and two Columbia University duPont Awards.
In addition to his George Arents Medal, Kroft has received honorary doctorates from Indiana University, Binghamton University, and Long Island University. Other significant recognitions include the University at Albany’s Medallion of the University in 2007 and the Gerald Loeb Award in 2009. That same year, he was included in the list of George Polk Award winners. In 2010, he earned the Paul White Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association, honoring lifetime achievement in electronic journalism.
| Birth Date: | 22 Aug, 1945 |
| Age: | 74 yrs |
| Occupations: | War correspondent Journalist |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | Kokomo |
| Gender: | Male |
| Description: | American journalist |
| Spouse: | Jennet Conant |
| Net Worth 2021: | 30 million |
