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Jovana Lara (American Journalist)
Jovana Lara’s husband, Dr. Randy Brooks, is an oral surgeon — a quiet detail that speaks to the grounded, private life she has built far from the camera lights of ABC7 Eyewitness News in Los Angeles. Lara is a Cuban-American broadcast journalist and four-time Emmy Award-winning anchor who has spent more than two decades delivering the news to Southern California audiences. She joined KABC-TV in December 2000 and has since become one of the most recognized faces on the station’s weekday 11 AM and 5 PM newscasts.
Born in Cuba on January 11, 1966, Lara’s story begins long before the anchor desk. Her family fled Communist Cuba when she was a small child, eventually settling in Glendale, California — a city she still calls home. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University before pivoting away from business and toward her true calling: journalism.
Her path to ABC7 was built through years of on-the-ground reporting. She won her first Emmy during her time at KNSD in San Diego, for coverage of the devastating 1997 El Niño mudslides near Tijuana. That award was not a ceiling — it was a foundation.
Many readers come searching for specific answers. Is Jovana Lara still married? How old is she today? Who exactly is the man she married? This article covers all of that — her marriage to Dr. Randy Brooks, her age and Cuban roots, her decorated career in broadcast journalism, and the personal life she has carefully kept out of the headlines.
| Full Name | Jovana Lara |
| Date of Birth | January 11, 1966 |
| Place of Birth | Cuba |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Hispanic-American (Cuban heritage) |
| Profession | Journalist, News Anchor, Reporter |
| Employer | ABC7 Eyewitness News (KABC-TV), Los Angeles, California |
| Education | Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.), Loyola Marymount University (1988); Holy Family High School, Glendale, California (1984) |
| Career Start | KESQ-TV (ABC Affiliate), Palm Springs, California — Weekend Reporter |
| Current Role | Weekday Anchor, 11 AM and 5 PM Newscasts — ABC7 Eyewitness News, Los Angeles |
| Notable Coverage | 1997 El Niño Mudslides (Tijuana), Southern California Wildfires, Immigration Stories (Mexico & Guatemala), Pope’s Visit, Los Angeles Breaking News |
| Marital Status | Married to Dr. Randy Brooks (Oral Surgeon) |
| Children | Alex Brooks (daughter), Hunter Brooks (son) |
| Awards | Five Emmy Awards (one at KNSD San Diego; four at ABC7 Eyewitness News as co-host of Vista L.A.); San Diego Press Club Commendations |
| Estimated Net Worth | $1 million – $2.8 million (estimated; not officially confirmed) |
| Salary | Estimated $68,703 – $93,300 annually (not officially confirmed) |
| Father | Bonifacio Lara |
| Siblings | Isabella (older sister; deceased 2006 — breast cancer) |
| Residence | Glendale, California, United States |
Who is Jovana Lara?
Jovana Lara is an Emmy Award-winning American journalist born on January 11, 1966, in Cuba. She is the weekday anchor for the 11 AM and 5 PM newscasts at ABC7 Eyewitness News in Los Angeles, a position she has held since December 2000. She is married to Dr. Randy Brooks, an oral surgeon.
Early Life and Education
Jovana Lara was born on January 11, 1966, in Cuba, into a family whose story is defined as much by courage as by circumstance. Her father, Bonifacio Lara, left Cuba ahead of the rest of his family to escape the Communist dictatorship under Fidel Castro. He and Jovana’s mother had been accused of criticizing the regime — a dangerous position that forced the family apart. Bonifacio left first, while Jovana and her mother remained behind and waited.
The family eventually reunited and settled in Glendale, California, where Jovana grew up. She had an older sister, Isabella, who made the journey as well. Isabella later passed away from breast cancer, a loss Lara has acknowledged publicly. In a deeply personal account she shared years into her career, Lara described witnessing her father cry for the first time — over the memory of leaving his family in Cuba. It is a detail that speaks to the weight her family carried long before she ever sat behind an anchor desk.
Educational Journey
Lara attended Holy Family High School in Glendale, California. After graduating, she enrolled at Loyola Marymount University, where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. Broadcasting was always her interest, but her academic path initially pointed toward business. According to multiple biographical sources, it was only after completing her degree that she made the deliberate decision to pursue a career in television journalism — a pivot that would eventually lead to five Emmy Awards and more than two decades at ABC7 Eyewitness News.
Career
Lara’s first television opportunity came at KESQ-TV, an ABC affiliate in Palm Springs, California. She started working weekends as a reporter, covering local news and building the foundational skills that broadcast journalism demands. After approximately one year of consistent weekend reporting, the station promoted her to weekend anchor for the six o’clock and eleven o’clock newscasts. It was an early sign of the trajectory she was on.
Eager to accelerate her development, Lara took on a second reporting role simultaneously — this time at the Orange County News Channel. Working two jobs in two markets at once was demanding, but it sharpened her instincts and broadened her experience in ways a single posting rarely could.
Her next move brought her to San Diego, where she joined KNSD-TV as a full-time reporter. The role proved to be a defining chapter. During her first year at the station, Lara won an Emmy Award for her coverage of a small village near Tijuana that was destroyed by the El Niño mudslides of 1997. That same year, two additional stories she reported received Emmy nominations. She also earned commendations from the San Diego Press Club during her time at KNSD — recognition that confirmed she was not simply a capable journalist, but an exceptional one.
Current Role at ABC7 Eyewitness News
Lara joined KABC-TV, home of ABC7 Eyewitness News in Los Angeles, in December 2000. What began as a reporting role has grown into one of the most visible anchor positions at the station. She currently anchors the weekday 11 AM and 5 PM newscasts and continues to report on solutions to community problems for Eyewitness News — a beat that reflects both her journalistic values and her deep connection to the Los Angeles community.
Her reporting has taken her well beyond Southern California. Lara has traveled to Mexico and Guatemala to cover earthquakes, immigration, and the Pope’s visit, as well as ongoing quality-of-life issues affecting communities in both Los Angeles and Mexico City. Back home, she has covered wildfires, crimes, and natural disasters with the kind of experience that only comes from decades in the field.
She is also an active participant in community events on behalf of the station — a commitment that has made her a recognizable and trusted presence not just on television, but in the communities she covers.
Major Achievements and Awards
Lara’s award record speaks for itself. She has won five Emmy Awards across her career — one during her time at KNSD San Diego for the 1997 El Niño mudslide coverage, and four more at ABC7 Eyewitness News as co-host of the program Vista L.A. She also holds commendations from the San Diego Press Club. Across a career spanning more than two decades at a single major-market station, Lara has established herself as one of the most decorated and enduring journalists in Southern California broadcasting.
Jovana Lara's Net Worth and Salary
As a senior weekday anchor and reporter at ABC7 Eyewitness News in Los Angeles, one of the largest television markets in the United States, Lara commands a salary consistent with her experience and seniority. Publicly available estimates place her annual earnings somewhere between $68,703 and $93,300. The variation across sources reflects the absence of any official disclosure — these are informed estimates based on industry standards for anchors of her tenure and market level, not confirmed figures.
These figures are third-party estimates based on public databases and have not been officially verified.
Los Angeles is a top-three television market in the country. Anchors with Lara’s level of experience — more than two decades at a single major network affiliate, multiple Emmy Awards, and consistent visibility across both morning and evening newscasts — typically command salaries at the higher end of publicly reported ranges for local broadcast journalists.
Net Worth Estimate
Jovana Lara’s net worth is estimated to fall between one million and two point eight million dollars, according to various third-party biographical sources. This range reflects the natural uncertainty that comes with estimating the wealth of a private individual who has never made a public financial disclosure.
Her net worth, wherever it falls within that range, is the product of a broadcasting career that has spanned more than two decades at the network affiliate level, with additional income likely derived from her long-running co-hosting work on Vista L.A. and community-facing roles tied to her position at ABC7. Her husband, Dr. Randy Brooks, is a practicing oral surgeon — a profession that contributes independently to the family’s financial stability, though his personal finances are entirely separate and not part of any public estimate of Lara’s net worth.
Personal Life and Family
For a journalist who has spent decades in front of a camera, Jovana Lara has managed something increasingly rare in modern media — a genuinely private personal life. What is known publicly, however, paints a picture of a woman as grounded off-screen as she appears on it.
Jovana Lara and Dr. Randy Brooks are parents to two children — a daughter named Alex Brooks and a son named Hunter Brooks. The family lives in Glendale, California, the same city where Lara herself was raised after her family emigrated from Cuba.
Jovana Lara's Husband — Dr. Randy Brooks
Jovana Lara’s husband is Dr. Randy Brooks, a practicing oral surgeon. The couple has built a life together largely away from public attention, which is a deliberate choice that those who follow Lara’s career have come to recognize as characteristic of her approach to anything outside the newsroom.
Details about when and where the couple married are not publicly available. Lara has never made her wedding a subject of media coverage, and no credible public record of the date or ceremony has been reported. What is confirmed is that the marriage has endured — and for readers searching to know whether Jovana Lara is still married, the answer is yes. As of all publicly available information, Jovana Lara and Dr. Randy Brooks remain married. No reports of separation, divorce, or any change in their marital status exist in any credible source.
The pairing of a high-profile television journalist and a medical professional is one that requires balance. Lara has spoken warmly about family in broader contexts throughout her career, and her commitment to community — both on and off the air — suggests a home life rooted in similar values. Dr. Brooks, for his part, maintains an entirely private profile. He does not appear in media coverage, does not maintain a known public presence, and has not been the subject of any independent reporting beyond his identification as Lara’s husband.
That privacy, on both sides, appears to be a shared priority rather than an accident.
Children
Jovana Lara and Dr. Randy Brooks are parents to two children — a daughter named Alex Brooks and a son named Hunter Brooks. The family lives in Glendale, California, the same city where Lara herself was raised after her family emigrated from Cuba.
Alex Brooks carries a name with particular family significance. According to publicly available biographical information, Alex was named after her grandmother, Aurelia Ruth Roberts Brooks — a detail that speaks to the value Lara and her husband place on family legacy and continuity across generations.
The exact ages and birth dates of both children are not publicly available. Lara has consistently kept her children out of the media spotlight, and no credible reporting has surfaced details about their personal lives, schooling, or activities. That boundary appears firm and intentional.
Personal Interests and Life Outside the Newsroom
Away from the demands of anchoring two daily newscasts, Lara leads an active personal life. She is known to enjoy indoor cycling, hiking, yoga, and experimenting with new recipes. She also pursues outdoor activities including skiing and paintball — a range that reflects both her energy and her inclination toward experiences that keep her away from screens rather than in front of them.
Her connection to the Glendale community runs deep. Having grown up there as the child of Cuban immigrants and raising her own family in the same city, Lara’s relationship with the area is personal in a way that extends well beyond her professional involvement in community events for ABC7. Glendale is not just where she works — it is where her story began.
That continuity — from a child who arrived in Glendale with her family after fleeing Cuba, to a decorated broadcast journalist who has anchored the city’s evening news for more than two decades — is perhaps the most telling detail of all about who Jovana Lara is beyond the anchor desk.
FAQ: Everything You Need to Know About Jovana Lara
Key questions answered about the ABC7 Emmy Award-winning anchor and her public life
Born on January 11, 1966, in Cuba, she emigrated to the United States as a small child and grew up in Glendale, California. She joined ABC7 in December 2000 and has since become one of the most recognized faces in Southern California broadcasting, anchoring the weekday 11 AM and 5 PM newscasts. She has won five Emmy Awards across her career.
The couple has two children together — a daughter named Alex Brooks and a son named Hunter Brooks. Details about their wedding date and ceremony are not publicly available. Dr. Brooks maintains an entirely private profile and does not appear in media coverage.
As of all publicly available information, the couple remains married. No credible reports of separation, divorce, or any change in their marital status have been published by any verified media source.
She was born in Cuba and raised in Glendale, California, after her family emigrated from Cuba when she was a small child. She celebrates her birthday on January 11th every year.
Alex Brooks was named after her grandmother, Aurelia Ruth Roberts Brooks. The exact ages and birth dates of both children are not publicly available. Lara has consistently kept her children out of the media spotlight.
She joined the station in December 2000 and currently anchors the weekday 11 AM and 5 PM newscasts. She also reports on solutions to community problems for Eyewitness News and is actively involved in community events on behalf of the station.
She graduated from Holy Family High School in 1984 and completed her degree at Loyola Marymount University in 1988. Although she was always interested in broadcasting, she initially pursued a business education before making the pivot into television journalism.
This estimate is based on her career spanning more than two decades as a senior anchor and reporter at ABC7 Eyewitness News in Los Angeles, one of the largest television markets in the United States. This figure has not been officially confirmed by Jovana Lara herself and should be treated as a third-party estimate only.
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