Editing Soledad O'Brien (section)

== Early life and education ==
{{Quote box|"My parents were both immigrants—my mother from Cuba, my father from Australia. Both attended daily Mass at the church near campus. Every day my father would offer my mother a ride. Every day, she declined. Finally, she said yes. One year later, the day after Christmas, the two of them were married."<ref name=Guideposts-Church-2004>{{cite news|last1=O'Brien|first1=Soledad|title=The Church Across the Street|url=http://web.njit.edu/~ronkowit/Soledad/articles/guideposts4-04.htm|work=[[Guideposts]]|date=April 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040822021446/http://web.njit.edu/~ronkowit/Soledad/articles/guideposts4-04.htm|archive-date=22 August 2004}}</ref>
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O'Brien was born and raised in [[St. James, New York|St. James]], [[New York (state)|New York]], on the [[North Shore (Long Island)|North Shore]] of [[Long Island]] to Edward Ephrem O'Brien (d. 2019), a mechanical engineering professor at [[Stony Brook University]], and Estela O'Brien (née Marquetti y Mendieta) (d. 2019), a French and English teacher at [[Smithtown Central School District|Smithtown High School West]].<ref name=Parade-NextBigStoryExcerpt-2010>{{cite news|last1=O'Brien|first1=Soledad|title=Survival of the Fittest|url=http://parade.com/49019/parade/101017-survival-of-the-fittest/|work=[[Parade (magazine)|Parade]]|date=October 17, 2010|format=Book excerpt}}</ref> Her parents were both immigrants and met while they were students at [[Johns Hopkins University]] in [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]].<ref name=HReporter-Loving-2016>{{cite news|last1=O'Brien|first1=Soledad|last2=Sun|first2=Rebecca (as told to)|title=Soledad O'Brien On Her Parents' Struggles as an Interracial Couple: "People Spit on Them in the Street"|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/soledad-o-brien-her-parents-939252|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=October 19, 2016|language=en}}</ref> Her father is from [[Toowoomba]], [[Queensland]], in [[Australia]] and is of three quarters [[Irish Australian|Irish]] and one quarter [[Scottish Australian|Scottish]] descent.<ref name=SoledadOBrienInfo-1996-1995>{{cite web|title=Soledad 1966–1995|url=http://soledadobrien.info/soledad95.html|website=SoledadObrien.info|date=October 8, 2007}}</ref><ref name=Hispanic-CNN-AmMorning-2005>{{cite news|last1=Anders|first1=Gigi|title=Running with the News: Soledad O'Brien is authoritative, credible, engaging and intelligent. And she's a great mom, too|url=http://www.hispaniconline.com/magazine/2005/June/CoverStory/index.html|work=[[Hispanic (magazine)|Hispanic]]|date=June 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080425112433/http://www.hispaniconline.com/magazine/2005/June/CoverStory/index.html|archive-date=April 25, 2008}}</ref><ref name=FindingYourRoots-IrishFactor-2016>{{cite news|last1=Gates, Jr.|first1=Henry Louis|title=The Irish Factor: Soledad O'Brien|url=https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/profiles/soledad-obrien/|work=[[Finding Your Roots]]|date=January 12, 2016}}</ref><ref name=FindingYourRoots-FamilyTree-2016>{{cite news|title=Soledad O'Brien's Interactive Family Tree|url=https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/blog/soledad-obriens-interactive-family-tree/|work=[[Finding Your Roots]]|date=January 13, 2016}}</ref> O'Brien's mother is from [[Havana]], [[Cuba]], and is of [[Afro-Cuban]] descent.<ref name=Hispanic-CNN-AmMorning-2005 /> When she was 14 years old, she came to the United States, sponsored by [[Oblate Sisters of Providence]] of Maryland.<ref name=CNN-Cuba-2014>{{cite news|last1=O'Brien|first1=Soledad|title=Soledad O'Brien: What my mother left behind|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/19/opinion/obrien-cuba-relations/|work=[[CNN]]|date=December 19, 2014}}</ref>

[[Interracial marriage]] was [[anti-miscegenation laws in the United States|illegal in Maryland]] before [[Loving v. Virginia|1967]], so in 1958 O'Brien's parents married in [[Washington, D.C.]], where marriage laws were less restrictive.<ref name=HReporter-Loving-2016 /> The newly wedded O'Briens then moved to [[Long Island]], to the town of [[St. James, New York|St. James]]. O'Brien is the fifth of six children, all graduates of [[Harvard College]].{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} Her siblings are law professor Maria O'Brien<ref>{{cite web |title=Maria O'Brien |url=https://www.bu.edu/law/profile/maria-obrien/ |website=Boston University |publisher=Trustees of Boston University |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> (born 1960), GE corporate lawyer Cecilia Vega (born 1961), businessman Tony O'Brien (born 1962), who heads a documents company, eye surgeon Estela Ogiste (born 1964), and anesthesiologist Orestes O'Brien (born 1967).<ref name=SoledadOBrienInfo-1996-1995 /><ref name=Hispanic-CNN-AmMorning-2005 /><ref name=CNN-BlackInAmerica-Shopping-2008>{{cite news|last1=O'Brien|first1=Soledad|title=Behind the Scenes: Black and shopping in America|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/23/btsc.obrien/index.html|work=Black in America 2, [[CNN]]|date=July 24, 2008}}</ref> Her niece is journalist [[Antonia Hylton]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=2019-02-07|title="He Was A Generous And Kind Human Being": Soledad O'Brien Reflects On Her Father's Death|url=https://madamenoire.com/1059403/he-was-a-generous-and-kind-human-being-soledad-obrien-reflects-on-her-fathers-death/|access-date=2021-02-17|website=MadameNoire}}</ref>

O'Brien graduated from [[Smithtown High School|Smithtown High School East]] in 1984.<ref name=SmithtownAlumni-PrideAward-2002>{{cite news|title=Soledad O'Brien: Pride of Smithtown 2002 Recipient|url=http://alumni.smithtown.k12.ny.us/soledad.asp|work=Smithtown Alumni Association|date=April 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210195848/http://alumni.smithtown.k12.ny.us/soledad.asp|archive-date=December 10, 2010}}</ref> She attended [[Radcliffe College]] from 1984 to 1988, starting as pre-med and English and American literature, but left to take a job at [[WBZ-TV]].<ref name=IndyStar-ButlerDiversity-2005 /><ref name=Harvard-Commencement-2013>{{cite web|title=Soledad O'Brien Harvard Commencement Speech – Harvard University Commencement 2013|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BWdqlZKdCI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/4BWdqlZKdCI |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|website=[[Harvard University]]|format=Video|date=May 29, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> O'Brien went back to school while pregnant with her first child and earned her degree from Harvard in English and American Literature in 2000.<ref name=IndyStar-ButlerDiversity-2005 /><ref name=HarvardAlumniDirectory-2000>{{cite book|title=Harvard Alumni Directory 2000|date=2000|pages=1038 (Vol. I) and 300 (Vol II)|publisher=President and Fellows of Harvard College|location=Cambridge, MA}}</ref>