Wendy Rieger was a veteran journalist and actress who worked as an anchor for NBC4 Washington for 33 years. She was known for her witty and engaging style of delivering the news, as well as her passion for environmental issues. She died on April 16, 2022, at the age of 65, after a battle with brain cancer. Here is a brief overview of her life and career, as well as her personal relationships.
Early Life and Career
Wendy Rieger was born on April 18, 1956, in Norfolk, Virginia. Her father was an airline pilot, and her mother was an English teacher and later a polygraph examiner. They divorced when Wendy was eight years old. She attended American University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1980. Before joining the media, she worked briefly as an actress in Norfolk in the 1970s.
Her first job in journalism was as a newsreader for a radio station based in Tidewater. In the 1980s, she worked with various media organizations, including WAMU, WLTT-FM and WTOP. In 1988, she joined WRC-TV as a nighttime reporter. She later became an anchor for the station’s evening and weekend newscasts. She also hosted a weekly segment called “Going Green”, which focused on environmental stories and tips.
She received numerous awards during her career, including an Emmy Award for a report on the Vietnam War and a Washingtonian Green Award for her work on environmental safety and preservation. She was also named one of the most attractive local celebrities by The Washington Post. She said she wished to keep attention on her work rather than her appearance, and that she found her own style of presenting the news, which was “self-effacing, opinionated and humorous by turns”. She said she was just being herself on the air, and that was what people liked about her.
Health and Death
In October 2020, Wendy Rieger underwent open-heart surgery to repair a faulty mitral valve. The following April, she began feeling unwell, and missed the funeral of her former colleague Joe Krebs. A month later, she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer that is very aggressive. She died on April 16, 2022, two days before her 66th birthday, while holding her husband’s hand. Her death was announced by NBC4 Washington on Twitter, saying “We lost our smart, vibrant, wonderful Wendy Rieger today”.
Personal Life
Wendy Rieger was married twice in her life. Her first marriage was with Sol Levine, a CNN producer, which ended in divorce. She married again in 2021 with Dan Buckley, a former NBC4 photographer who had recently retired. They had a small wedding ceremony in November 2021, and went on a honeymoon to Hawaii. She said she wanted to live 33 more years with him, as her new year’s resolution in 2022. She also had a boyfriend named Patrick, whom she dated for a year in 2017. She posted a picture of him on her Facebook page, saying they were happy together. However, the current status of their relationship is unknown.
Wendy Rieger was also an animal lover, and had several pets, including dogs, cats, horses and chickens. She lived on a farm in Maryland, where she enjoyed gardening and riding. She also loved traveling, and visited many places around the world, such as India, Egypt, Italy and France. She was a spiritual person, and practiced meditation and yoga. She said she believed in reincarnation, and that she hoped to come back as a dolphin in her next life.
Wendy Rieger was a beloved news anchor who touched many lives with her personality and professionalism. She will be remembered as a smart, vibrant and wonderful woman who made a difference in the world.