Linda Yu Biography|Profile
Linda Yu is a skilled Asian-American TV anchor. She hosts the ‘Food We Love’, a video series for the Chicago Sun-Times. She is a former co-anchor on the Eyewitness newscast for WLS-TV in Chicago, Illinois. In April 2005 she was inducted into the prestigious “Silver Circle” of legendary Chicago broadcasters.
Linda Yu Age
How old is Yu? She is 74 old as of 2024. She was born on 1st December 1946 in Xian, China. Yu celebrates her birthday on December 1 every year.
Linda Yu Education
She graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism in 1968.
Linda Yu Height|Weight
Yu stands on an average height of 5 feet 7 inches and weighs around 60kgs
Linda Yu Family
Yu was born to a Chinese family in South Asia. When she was three years her family moved to Hong Kong. They later migrated to the United States when Yu was five years old. They lived in Pennsylvania for four years, Indiana for two, and settled in California when Yu was twelve years old.
During an interview, Yu said her mother wanted her to be a journalist. Her mother was born and raised in China and was a daughter of royalty. She studied writing and dreamt of becoming having a career but she got married and became a homemaker.
Linda Yu Husband|Married
She married her husband Richard Baer, a psychiatrist, on 12th June 1982. After their marriage, they were involved in an accident while going on their honeymoon in southern France that resulted in Richard being hospitalized. They got divorced in 1996.
Linda Yu Children
Yu and her husband Richard have two children; a son Ricky Baer (a writer) born in August 1985 and a daughter Francesca Baer (an actress) born in February 1988.
Linda Yu Daughter
Her daughter Francesca Baer is an actress who plays the role of Olivia, a research assistant working in artificial intelligence, in the CBS drama, “Intelligence. Francesca attended the Latin School of Chicago and studied at the Piven Theatre Workshop in Evanston. She later joined the University of Southern California.
Linda Yu Career
Yu started her broadcasting career as a writer and producer for KTLA-TV in Los Angeles in 1970 and later a writer for ABC O & O KABC-TV also in Los Angeles. She had a brief stint as a reporter for KATU-TV in early 1975 after she moved to Portland, Oregon.
She later moved back to California where she got a job as a general assignment reporter and back–up anchor at KGO-TV, in San Francisco where she worked until 1979. While there she did a report which helped with the introduction of state legislation to protect residents from uninsured motorists.
In June 1979 she joined NBC’s WMAQ-TV as a general assignment reporter and weekend co-anchor. In February 1980 she began working as co-anchor on the 4:30 and 10 PM newscasts alongside Ron Magers.
Yu won her first Emmy award in May 1981 for a special newscast on the March 30, 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. She received her second Emmy award in 1982 for her report and coverage of a construction accident in Chicago’s downtown Loop. In March 1984 Linda quit WMAQ-TV citing disturbance from WMAQ-TV’s management.
Linda Yu Retirement
Yu announced on 6th September 2016 that she was retiring from WLS-TV and TV news after 46 years in the news and 37 years in the Chicago market. She made her last broadcast on 23rd November at 4 PM. Windy City Live (an ABC 7 program) had earlier in the day aired a tribute show to Yu where her friends, family, co-workers, and former co-workers reviewed and celebrated her career as well as her personal contributions to the city.
“How blessed am I to have had such a wonderful career in Chicago! I’m so lucky to be part of the ABC 7 team that built the #1 station for three decades. Now I’m really looking forward to new adventures, including writing my next book and seeing my children more often in California. Although it will be difficult saying goodbye to my colleagues and home away from home at ABC 7, it’s reassuring that someone as talented as Judy Hsu will continue to lead the way with Rob Elgas on our 4 PM News. ” Linda said.
John Idler, President and General Manager, ABC 7 Chicago said: “Since Linda Yu began anchoring the 4 PM News in 1984 it has been the #1 newscast for 32 years — an astonishing winning streak. Linda is a class act who leaves a remarkable legacy at ABC 7. She will be truly missed by everyone at ABC 7 and her many loyal viewers throughout Chicago.”
Linda Yu Book
She published her book/ Memoir, ‘Lessons I Learned in America’ in Chinese, as a guide to help young Chinese women in the global workplace. Yu signed a book deal with a leading Chinese publisher to write her second book featuring unique stories of prominent Asian woman entrepreneurs, and political and cultural icons in the United States.
Linda Yu Salary|Net Worth
Yu has an estimated salary ranging between $70,000 – $125,000 and has an estimated net worth of $1 Million -$5 Million which she earned from her broadcasting career.
Linda Yu Social Media Platforms
She is very active on social media platforms and has over 6.4k followers on Twitter, 500 followers on Instagram, and over 4k followers on Facebook.