Judy Carline Woodruff (born November 20, 1946) is an American broadcast journalist who has worked in local, network, cable, and public television news since 1970.

[9] She grew up as an army brat, and moved with her family multiple times during her childhood, attending seven schools between kindergarten and seventh grade.

They then moved to army bases in Missouri and New Jersey, returned to Oklahoma, lived in Taiwan for a few years, and subsequently went to North Carolina, before settling in the Augusta, Georgia, area, when her father was stationed at Fort Gordon.

[12] Woodruff attended Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina, starting in 1964, initially pursuing a degree in mathematics.

[10] She was hired as a secretary at the news department of the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia (WQXI-TV), and began working after she graduated in 1968.

[28] Woodruff moved to PBS in mid-1983, becoming the chief Washington correspondent for The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, when the duration of that program was extended to one hour.

[30] While at PBS, she covered all presidential conventions and campaigns, and moderated the 1988 vice-presidential debate between United States Senators Dan Quayle (R-IN) and Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX).

[10] Woodruff was teased about this move by her colleague Jim Lehrer: "When I left the 'NewsHour' for a spell to work for a cable-news channel, he always inquired about life at the  'Home Shopping Network'".

[42] Woodruff left CNN in June 2005, after her contract expired, in order to teach, write, and work on a long-form television project.

[49] As a senior correspondent, she reported, conducted studio interviews, was part of the political team, and occasionally filled in as anchor.

Jim Lehrer, the main anchor was alternately joined by Woodruff, Gwen Ifill, and Jeffrey Brown.

[51] Earlier that year, the documentary Nancy Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime, of which Woodruff was the principal reporter, was released.

[7] Besides the NewsHour itself, the duo also presented PBS coverage of special events, including presidential conventions, election night, and States of the Union.

In 2017, The New York Times wrote of her performance on the NewsHour: "Ms. Woodruff's measured delivery, with her hands clasped and her voice low, stands as a counterweight to a haywire era of American news.

"[7] In May 2022, Woodruff announced that she would step down as the NewsHour's anchor at the end of the year, but planned to continue contributing to the program as senior correspondent.

[55][56] Woodruff and her husband, Al Hunt, have actively supported families of children with spina bifida (a condition shared by their eldest son, Jeffrey) with counseling and other necessary services.

[57][58] Woodruff has also served on the boards of trustees of a number of other organizations, including the Newseum,[59] the Freedom Forum,[60] the National Museum of American History,[1] Global Rights,[61] the Carnegie Corporation of New York,[62] America's Promise,[63] the Urban Institute,[64] The Duke Endowment,[65] and the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford.

[86] Woodruff is married to Al Hunt, a columnist and former reporter, and they live in Washington, D.C., with another residence in nearby Maryland.

[7] Their marriage took place on April 5, 1980, in St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.[89] The couple has three children: Jeffrey (1981),[90] Benjamin (1986),[26] and Lauren (1989).

[91] Jeffrey was born with a mild case of spina bifida, and became disabled and brain damaged after surgery in 1998, which caused Woodruff to reduce her workload at CNN.