Maria Sara Bartiromo (born September 11, 1967) is an American conservative journalist and author who has also worked as a financial reporter and news anchor.

[4][5] She is one of three Fox Corporation program hosts named in a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit by Smartmatic relating to unproven conspiracy theories used in attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.

[19] Her grandfather Carmine Bartiromo immigrated to the United States from Nocera, Campania in 1933, settling in New York and serving in the US Armed Forces.

[17] She was fired from the latter for trying on newly arrived dresses before putting them away; she recalled "I cried the whole way home, but I learned a valuable lesson and that is – do your job.

[28] In 1993, Bartiromo was hired by executive Roger Ailes to replace analyst Roy Blumberg at CNBC, and began reporting live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, as well as hosting and contributing to the Market Watch and Squawk Box segments.

[17] The Guardian newspaper described the scene as, "viewers could watch Bartiromo amid the tumult on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, straining her voice to be heard as she delivered reports to camera ..., her 5ft 5in frame [1.65m] often jostled by burly traders.

[30] Over the years, writers for multiple media outlets have commented on her good looks and likened her appearance to that of the Italian actress Sophia Loren.

[34] Bartiromo anchored the television coverage of New York City's Columbus Day Parade beginning in 1995 and was the Grand Marshal in 2010.

[26] As The New York Times wrote, "in her years as CNBC's most recognizable face, [she] has lent to the reporting of once gray business news a veneer of gloss and celebrity."

But the Times noted that: "Typically, Ms. Bartiromo's interviewing style can be probing, aggressive and, her special access notwithstanding, she can make even some of her best sources sweat a bit on camera.

"[26] CNBC defended her on the matter, saying that the trips in question were properly approved and that "her journalistic integrity was never compromised",[25] and Bartiromo retained the confidence of NBC upper management.

[16] Following the 2007–2008 financial crisis, which featured the collapse of some Wall Street firms and the federal bailouts of others, Bartiromo commented in an interview: "I'm a free-market capitalist who would like to think that the market can correct itself.

[41] Since her time with the Fox Business channel, the ratings for her show began to surge when she became an important news source for Trump supporters.

[45] She then co-hosted on Fox Business another Republican debate, this time on January 14, 2016 in the North Charleston Coliseum,[46] one that was not previously planned but awarded on the basis of the first performance.

[41] But as the election ran on towards its conclusion, Bartiromo took an increasingly sharp pro-Trump stance,[42] such as repeating trolling Internet posts attacking Clinton.

"[55] Attorney general Bill Barr named federal prosecutor John Bash to lead an investigation, which concluded months later with no findings of substantive wrongdoing and no public report.

[4] Bartiromo then defended herself by claiming that much of the media, such as CNN and The New York Times, were taking a side and engaging in "election interference".

"[61] According to media reporter Brian Stelter, Bartiromo's unsourced and poorly sourced on-air conversation with Sidney Powell on November 8, 2020, largely started the network's false and potentially defamatory claims about the election, which Trump lost -- Bartiromo did no fact checking, no push back, nor even ask for evidence, merely repeating "unhinged" and false claims.

[62] Bartiromo was an outspoken proponent on her program of baseless allegations that rigged voting machines stole the election from Donald Trump.

Attorneys for Smartmatic, a voting machine company that had been baselessly accused of conspiring with competitor Dominion Voting Systems to rig the election, sent Fox News a letter in December 2020 threatening legal action and demanding retractions that "must be published on multiple occasions" so as to "match the attention and audience targeted with the original defamatory publications."

The three programs each ran the same three-minute video segment refuting the baseless allegations days later, consisting of an election security expert being interviewed by an unseen and unidentified man, though none of the three hosts personally issued retractions.

[63][64] In February 2021, Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation suit against Fox News, three of its hosts, including Bartiromo, and two network guests.

A New York State Supreme Court judge ruled in March 2022 that the suit against Fox News could proceed, dismissing allegations against two individuals but allowing claims against Bartiromo to stand.

[68][69] In July 2021, Bartiromo referenced Ashli Babbitt, who was shot while part of a pro-Trump mob trying to push through a barricaded door inside the U.S. Capitol building, a "wonderful woman" who "went to peaceful protest.

[75] That year, TheStreet.com reported that Bartiromo had an annual salary of $10 million, seventh highest among American television news anchors of any kind.

[79] A fourth book, of which she held the status of co-author along with James Freeman, was titled The Cost: Trump, China, and American Renewal (Simon & Schuster, 2020).

[38] He subsequently wrote a song titled "Maria Bartiromo" that appeared on his solo album Don't Worry About Me, released posthumously in 2002.