Zain Asher

Zain Ejiofor Asher ( Ejiofor, ) is a British news anchor at CNN International, based in New York City.

Early life and education Asher was born to Nigerian parents in London and grew up in West Norwood, South London. Her mother, Obiajulu, was a pharmacist working in Brixton, and her father, Arinze, was a physician. In 1988, her father died in a car accident during a road trip in Nigeria, when she was five years old. Her elder brother is actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, known for his role in the film 12 Years a Slave. She is also the elder sister to Kandi Ejiofor, a physician in England.

Asher attended Oxford University and graduated in 2005 with a degree in French and Spanish. The following year, she attended the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, in New York City. In 2021, she was named an honorary fellow of Keble College, Oxford University.

Early career After graduation, Asher initially worked as a receptionist at a production company before becoming a freelance reporter at News 12 Brooklyn where she covered local news. She also worked as a reporter for Money, where she wrote personal finance articles about careers and investing before moving to CNN. She was first hired as a business correspondent before becoming an anchor at CNN International based in Atlanta. In 2014, she reported from Abuja, Nigeria on the hundreds of Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram. She is of Igbo descent; her family is originally from Enugu State, Nigeria.