‘Today Show’: What Is Natalie Morales’ Net Worth and What Is Her Ethnicity?
Reporter Natalie Morales has been with MSNBC and NBC since 2002, covering everything from the 2004 Presidential election, the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece, Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, and the Northeast Blackout of 2003.
Morales’ perfect balance of sunny delivery with straightforward journalism has made her a fan favorite of the network.
Find out the journalist’s net worth, plus learn about how her ethnic background has worked to her advantage in her career.
Morales’ ethnicity and how it came in handy in her career
Natalie Morales was born in Taiwan, to her Brazilian mother, Penelope, and father, Lieutenant Colonel Mario Morales, Jr., who is Puerto Rican. Morales is tri-lingual, fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Until the age of 18, she was constantly moving due to her father’s Air Force assignments, living in the United States, Panama, Brazil, and Spain.
In 2011, she told The Hollywood Reporter how her fluency in Spanish gave her an edge over other journalists when she was covering the Chilean mining disaster that trapped 33 workers deep inside the mine.
“That made all the difference in the world,” Morales said of her ability to directly communicate with miners during the ordeal.
“I think that allowed me to shine in that story in the moment.”
Morales’ recent exit from ‘Access Hollywood’
The reporter, in the spring of 2019, left her anchoring job at NBC’s Access Hollywood. She remains a Dateline contributor and a Today correspondent out of Los Angeles. It’s unclear why she left the entertainment news program, and was replaced by a veteran in the celebrity news field, Mario Lopez.
Morales left a goodbye letter to her Access Hollywood staff and colleagues, letting them know she would miss them and stay in touch.
It read, “To my dear Access family, And I do mean family! I have had a wonderful 3 years here with you and will treasure the memories and good times! Thank you for welcoming me with open arms and for always bringing your A-game.”
“. . . As an “Air Force” brat who has had to say goodbye one too many times in my life. . . I prefer to say see you all later … and by later I mean on the next red carpet or on the lot! I’m just a few studio gates away after all. Please stay in touch.”
Morales’ net worth
Natalie Morales’ net worth is $16 million according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Morales spoke last month about not being shy to do her homework about what other people are earning to make sure pay is being handled fairly.
“It took me a while of like, you know, getting paid less than a couple of male anchors that were doing the same job as me in smaller markets,” Morales said at a Know Your Value event in Philadelphia last month, “and it took a while for me to find my voice.”
“I’m a big believer in helping all of those who come behind me because, you know, as I get older, there are a million more behind me we’re trying to do what we’re doing,” Morales said.
“Especially as one of very few Latinas very visible on a high-profile morning show, I think being able to be there and represent and let little girls look up at the screen and believe that if they can see it, they can truly be it, is such an important thing.”
Read more: This Former ‘Today Show’ Co-Host Said NBC ‘Made the Wrong Choice When I Left’
