Debora Patta Net Worth, Husband, Age, Wiki, Height, Children

Debora Patta is a South African Correspondent for CBS News, who is an award-winning investigative journalist, author, and television personality. Patta’s reporting skills have made her a treasured household name. She is currently working as a CBS News Foreign Correspondent based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

This biography of Debora Patta will describe more about Patta’s husband, family, career, net worth, and more.

Debora Patta Wiki & Early Life

Debora Patta was born on 1 September 1964 (Age: 59 years old) in Zimbabwe, South Africa, where she lived with her Italian parents. Patta is a host, producer, and investigative journalist for CBS now.

She probably joined CBS News in 2013 after working for e.tv, a privately owned free-to-air television station in South Africa in 1998. 

Before beginning her career as a television journalist Debora was a radio personality and worked with Radio 702 in Johannesburg. Patta was a reporter there and was later promoted to news editor and then to special assignments editor.

Debora Patta Husband, Boyfriend, and Relationship

Debora Patta’s marriage was sort of a rollercoaster ride. She got married three times, and her first marriage created quite a controversy. Let’s have a closer look at the married life of Debora.

Patta first got married to Mweli Mzizi in 1995 and after their marriage, the couple encountered hostility for a year. Next year 1996 they again got married, but this time the Department of Home Affairs said that the marriage was invalid because Mzizi didn’t fill out the form, which said “a black man should never say that he is married or we both were married.”

Later in 2000, Debora Patta Mweli Mzizi’s unsuccessful attempt to enter a whites-only picnic resort was filmed with a hidden camera for her show “3rd Degree.” After this Debora started receiving hate mail on racism.

After an unsuccessful marriage with Mzizi, in 2003 Patta got married to her second husband Lance Levitas. But for some reason, even this marriage didn’t work out so Patta decided to get married again, and this time it was a veteran of the U.S. Army.

Debora Patta got married for the third time with Andrew Levy in 2012. Andrew now works as a commentator and humorist, photographer, pioneer educator, and part-time surfer.

Debora Patta Family

As per reports, Debora Patta CBS News has not revealed her parent’s names but we still have some information about her family. Debora’s family originated from Praia a Mare in Calabria. Patta’s Italian father had emigrated as a railway employee and her mother is said to be a nurse and devout Catholic. 

In 1976 Debora’s parents got divorced and she moved to South Africa with her mother and sister.

Debora Patta has two daughters, her elder Chiara Mzizi is from her first husband, and her younger daughter Isabella Levitas is from her second husband Lance Levitas. Chiara works as a presenter for YoTV, by SABC 1.

Currently, Debora is living with her younger daughter and her third husband Andrew Levy in Johannesburg.

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Debora Patta Education

Patta did her schooling at the Rustenburg School for Girls, where she matriculated in 1981. Later in 1984, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science from the University of Cape Town. Research states that Debora taught aerobics while graduating. 

Debora Patta Career

After graduating from university, Debora started working as a freelance reporter for the BBC and while graduating Patta also worked as a political activist who taught literacy to Cape Town’s squatter camps until 1990.

Soon after completing her graduation from the University of Cape Town Debora started her career as a political activist and taught literacy in Cape Town’s squatter camps. Later in 1990, Patta worked as a freelance reporter for the BBC.

Debora Patta Radio Personality

After working as a freelancer at BBC in 1990 Debora joined Radio 702 as a reporter based in Johannesburg. After working hard for three years, in 1994 Patta was promoted to news editor and in 1997 promoted to special assignments editor.

Debora’s first news story was about the return of ANC leader Oliver Tambo from exile, which was aired on Radio 702 in December 1990. When in 1997 Debora was promoted to special assignments editor, she worked on the 1986 plane crash incident where Mozambican President Samora Machel was killed. During the investigation of this report, Patta received several threats from the public. 

Furthermore, in 1998 Patta participated in the Reconciliation Commission for a special hearing, providing expert opinion and questioning regarding the 1987 Helderberg plane crash. Later in 2008, she was interviewed for the documentary on the Helderberg plane crash.

Reports say that Debora Patta again joined Radio 702 in 2013, as a stand-in talk radio host.

Debora Patta Television Journalist

In 1998 Debora Patta worked for a privately owned television station e.tv. This station was the first private TV station in South Africa. Patta served as a Senior Correspondent and was later appointed the chief anchor of e.tv. In 2005 she was again appointed as the editor-in-chief of e.tv.

In 2009 Debora Patta decided to resign from e.tv. News and followed her passion for producing and anchoring the weekly current affairs television program 3rd Degree Show. The show focused on hard-hitting interviews and was aired on 14 May 2013. However, in 2012 while Patta was working on her show 3rd Degree, a puppet version of her voiced by Nikki Jackman was the cast and was a co-host for the satirical television news program “ZANEWS.”

Career as a Foreign Correspondent for CBS

Debora Patta is currently working as a CBS Foreign Correspondent based in Johannesburg, South Africa. After resigning from e.tv. she joined CBS News in 2013 and geared up her career by reporting for all CBS News broadcasts and platforms, including the “CBS Evening News,” “CBS Mornings,” and the “CBS News’ premier 24/7.”

Since 2013 Patta has reported on major international stories for CBS News like the famine in South Sudan and the kidnapping of schoolgirls by Boko Haram.  She has also reported on major incidents like the fall of Aleppo, terror attacks in Brussels, France, and Spain, and the bombing of a Syrian children’s hospital.

Debora Patta played a major role in the funeral of Nelson Mandela. She was the lead correspondent of this report and provided on-the-ground coverage of his funeral. After this Patta published a book on Nelson Mandela’s chief bodyguard named “One Step Behind Mandela.”

Courageous Patta reported from the extensive conflict zones located in Niger, Somalia, and Cameroon. She also got the courage to report from Niger after Islamic militants trapped in U.S. and Nigerian soldiers, leaving four Americans dead. Patta’s versatile reporting didn’t stop here, she further turned up the story of child cobalt miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

prompting emotional support from the CBS reporting team. The team also donated money to send children to school. Additionally, Debora has covered the effects of climate change on the African continent looking at plastic pollution and the second-hand clothing industry.

In recent years, Patta reported on the COVID-19 pandemic, how the virus spread across, and investigated vaccine inequality. Debora Patta was the first international correspondent to visit the lab where the new variant of Omicron was identified.

Career as a Writer

Debora Patta’s writing career has made her publish books till now. One book is named “Baby Micaela”, which narrates the inside story of South Africa’s Most Famous Abduction Case. The other book is written on the story of Rory Steyn, Nelson Mandela’s chief bodyguard and the name of the book is “One Step Behind Mandela.”

Debora Patta Awards

Debora Patta in her journey as a journalist has been appreciated for several awards. Let’s look into the awards below.

1. Patta won the South African Checkers Journalist of the Year in 1992.
2. In 2004, Patta was awarded the MTN 10 Most Remarkable Women in Media award and also won the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Gauteng Region.
3. After this in 2007, she was awarded the Simonsvlei Journalist Achiever of the Year, then in 2009 with the Vodacom Women in the Media.
4. Again in 2010, she won two awards, the Tricolor Globe Award for outstanding achievers of Italian origin abroad and another one was South Africa’s Most Influential Women in Business and Government.
5. In 2015, Debora Patta and her CBS News team were nominated to receive an Emmy Award for their coverage of the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa.

Debora Patta Net Worth, Salary

Debora Patta Height

Debora Patta Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn

Twitter	@Debora_Patta
Instagram	@deborapattacbs
Facebook	@debora.patta
LinkedIn	@debora-patta

10 Interesting Facts About Debora Patta

1. Patta is currently working as a CBS Foreign Correspondent based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
2. First marriage with Mzizi in 1996 was unsuccessful, she got married again in 2003 to Lance Levitas.
3. Debora Patta got married for the third with Andrew Levy in 2012 who is a veteran of the U.S. Army.
4. Patta has two daughters Chiara Mzizi and Isabella Levitas, from her first and second husbands.
5. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science from the University of Cape Town.
6. In 1990 Debora joined Radio 702 as a reporter based in Johannesburg. 
7. In 2009 Patta produced her show “The weekly current affairs television program 3rd Degree Show.”
8. Debora was the lead correspondent of this report and provided on-the-ground coverage of his funeral. 
9. Debora Patta was the first international correspondent to visit the lab where the new variant of Omicron was identified.
10. She has received an Emmy Award for their coverage of the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa.

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