How Tom Llamas' Parents Inspired Him to Be a Journalist: "They Gave That to Me"
“Growing up in a Cuban American household, the news was constantly on,” the NBC Nightly News anchor said of his childhood.
No one is prouder of Tom Llamas taking over for Lester Holt as anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News than his parents. After all, the award-winning journalist’s mother and father, who both fled their home country of Cuba when they were young, were the ones who inspired their son to pursue a career in journalism.
“Anchoring NBC Nightly News is a profound honor and one that carries tremendous responsibility,” Llamas said earlier this year, adding that he promises to follow in Holt’s footsteps in being "devoted to our viewers and dedicated to the truth.”
Llamas told TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie that he’s “excited” to take on this new role, and his hometown is also thrilled. During a June 2, 2025 appearance on TODAY, Llamas revealed that his parents sent him a photo of a local Miami bar that had organized a watch party for his family to watch his first night live on Nightly News. “That means a lot to me,” he said.
Through the years, Llamas has shared how proud he is to be Cuban American and how his parents got him interested in current events when he was just a kid. Read on to learn all about Llamas’ childhood, where his parents are from, and more.
Where are Tom Llamas’ parents from?
The NBC Nightly News anchor’s parents are both from Cuba. Llamas shared in an essay for TODAY that his father grew up in Oriente, an eastern province of Cuba, while his mother grew up in Havana, the country’s capital. They both fled Cuba during Fidel Castro's communist regime, and settled in the United States, where they ultimately met as teens.
“Right after Castro took over, my mom got out. My dad's family left a few years later. They both came to this country with nothing and they worked their way up,” he wrote in 2021. “They were happy to be in a country where they had freedom of religion and freedom of speech and all of these things that make the United States a very unique and special place. They met in high school in Miami.”
RELATED: All About Tom Llamas and His Wife Jennifer's Beautiful Family
Where did Tom Llamas grow up?
Born in 1979, Llamas grew up in Miami, Florida. He credits his parents with inspiring him to pursue a career in journalism. “My parents were always into current events, and they gave that to me,” Llamas said during an interview on NBC’s local Florida affiliate WESH in June 2025. “I think they also gave me, they taught me I should say, about hard work and diligence and they’ve worked very hard.”
In his essay for TODAY, Llamas said his family was “constantly” watching the news during his childhood. “Growing up in a Cuban American household, the news was constantly on,” he wrote. “We were always following news out of Cuba. At night we would talk about it at the dinner table.”
Llamas’ journalism career also started in Florida when he was just a teen. “I actually started working in newsrooms at the age of 15, I had an internship at Telemundo in Miami. Working for free, but it was so exciting. I couldn’t even drive!” he shared on WESH. “But I was out there covering crime scenes and interviewing local officials. That was my summer break. But that’s really where I caught the bug.”
Tom Llamas teaches his children about their Cuban heritage
Llamas shares three children with his wife Jennifer, and they’ve been learning about their Cuban roots “their whole lives,” as he wrote for TODAY.
“My kids know they're Cuban American. Their grandparents speak Spanish,” he shared, adding that his children love Cuban pastries, listening to Cuban music, dancing, and they’re learning to speak Spanish. “We go over words and the kids are surrounded by the language when we're in Miami. It takes time, but we'll get there. Language is the key to culture, so it's a big focus.”
RELATED: Tom Llamas Succeeds Lester Holt as NBC Nightly News Anchor: "A Profound Honor"
Tom Llamas is proud to be living the “American Dream” as anchor of NBC Nightly News
During an appearance on TODAY on June 2, 2025, Llamas reflected on what this new, history-making chapter of his career means to him. “To be the first [Latino journalist] to anchor something like Nightly News, it freezes me. It really, it’s just surreal,” he told Craig Melvin and Savannah Guthrie.
As the son of Cuban immigrants, Llamas said his parents are the ones who taught him to be patriotic and, as he looks back at their beginnings in the United States, he’s proud to be living the "American Dream."
“My parents came here with nothing, ya know? They didn’t speak the language, they didn’t have money, they lost their country. And this beautiful place called America gave them a second chance, it gave them a new home,” he shared on TODAY. “They taught me to love this country and I do, it’s the greatest place in the world. But to know they came here with nothing and now I’m going to anchor Nightly News, my name’s on that show, that is the American Dream.”
