Alicia acuna is a veteran American broadcast journalist and Senior Correspondent for Fox News Channel, based in the network’s Denver bureau since 1997. Born in Whittier, California, she is widely recognized for her nearly three decades of field reporting and for a deeply emotional on-air moment during a 2023 Denver school shooting that went viral worldwide.
Alicia acuna Wiki-Bio
| Field | Details |
| Full Name | Alicia acuna |
| Date of Birth | May 28, 1970 |
| Age | 56 Years |
| Profession | Senior Correspondent, Broadcast Journalist |
| Birth Place | Whittier, California, USA |
| Hometown | Tucson, Arizona, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Mexican-American (Chicana heritage) |
| Relationship Status | Married |
Physical Appearance
| Field | Details |
| Hair Color | Dark Brown |
| Eye Color | Brown |
Family
| Field | Details |
| Husband | Brian Daniel Boyd (married 2004) |
| Daughter | Sofia (born April 2004) |
| Son | Mario (born September 2006) |
| Mother | Alicia Soto Acuna (1936–2023) |
Education
| Field | Details |
| High School | Tucson High Magnet School, Tucson, Arizona (1984–1988) |
| University | Northern Arizona University |
| Degree | Journalism / Broadcasting (1989–1993) |
| Fellowship | International Radio and Television Society (IRTS) Fellowship — CBS News national headquarters, New York |
Table of Contents
Alicia acuna Background
Early Life Story
Alicia acuna was born on May 28, 1970, in Whittier, California, into a Mexican-American household. Both of her parents identified as Chicano, a term rooted in the mid-20th century civil rights movement, and this culturally conscious upbringing shaped her perspective on Hispanic-American identity throughout her career. When she was thirteen, her parents divorced, and her father relocated to San Diego while she settled primarily in Tucson, Arizona, where she attended school from second grade through high school graduation.
This dual-state upbringing — spending the school year in Tucson and holidays with her father on the San Diego coast — instilled a natural adaptability in her from a young age. At Northern Arizona University, she discovered broadcasting by chance after spotting an audition flyer for the campus TV station, U-TV. She became so immersed in the work that she simultaneously took on roles as reporter, producer, director, and floor manager, building a complete production foundation before entering the professional world.
Family Background
Acuna’s mother, Alicia Soto Acuna, was born on May 25, 1936, and sacrificed her own formal education to care for her younger siblings and support her parents financially. She remained one of the most significant influences in Acuna’s life, and publicly called her daughter her greatest “proudest accomplishment in life.” She passed away on August 21, 2023, at the age of 87, leaving behind a legacy of selfless dedication.
Acuna’s husband, Brian Boyd, has navigated serious challenges alongside her. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 and fought through it step by step, reaching a 13-year cancer-free milestone that Acuna publicly celebrated on Instagram in 2022. Boyd co-founded a Colorado restaurant, The Rotary, which opened at Denver’s Avanti Food & Beverage hall in 2018 and later expanded — but its Louisville location was completely destroyed in the catastrophic Marshall Fire of December 30, 2021, just two weeks after opening, forcing a major restructuring of the business.
Career
Alicia acuna began her career as an assignment editor at KNSD (NBC) in San Diego, before transitioning to on-air work as a weekend anchor at KGET-TV in Bakersfield, California, and later as weekday anchor at KSEE-TV in Fresno. In 1997, she was recognized as runner-up for the APTRA (Associated Press Television and Radio Association) Reporter of the Year award. That same year, she joined the Fox News Channel as a national correspondent — among the network’s early hires following its October 1996 launch.
Operating out of the Denver bureau for nearly three decades, she has covered landmark events including the 2008 Denver Democratic Convention, the 2012 Presidential Debate at the University of Denver, the 2013 Moore Oklahoma EF5 tornado, the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Dallas, the 2020 presidential election in Arizona, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In February 2024, her dual standing as a seasoned journalist and a directly affected parent led to her selection as moderator at Northwell Health’s Fifth Annual Gun Violence Prevention Forum, where she engaged alongside pediatric health leaders and school shooting survivors.
Some Lesser Known Facts
- Acuna’s parents both identified as Chicano, and she has described her background as being between a second and third-generation Mexican-American — a heritage she has written about directly for Fox News Latino.
- She discovered broadcasting entirely by accident — a campus flyer advertising U-TV auditions at Northern Arizona University led to what became a career-defining obsession with every role in the newsroom.
- An IRTS fellowship took her to CBS News headquarters in New York City as a student, directly preceding her entry into the professional television market.
- Before overcoming it professionally, she had a significant fear of public speaking — a fear that ironically dissolved the moment she was alone with a camera, with no live audience present.
- She joined Fox News Channel in 1997, just one year after the network launched, making her part of its founding generation of correspondents.
- Her son was inside Denver East High School during the March 22, 2023 shooting; she was simultaneously reporting the incident live on air while receiving text updates from him inside the lockdown.
- During that broadcast, she paused mid-report to embrace her son as he exited the building, saying clearly into the microphone: “Excuse me, my son just came up, and I had not seen him.” The footage was shared across CNN, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, gathering millions of views.
- Her husband Brian Boyd fought cancer in 2009 and reached a 13-year cancer-free milestone, which Acuna commemorated in a personal Instagram post in May 2022.
- The Louisville, Colorado location of her husband’s restaurant, The Rotary, opened and was completely destroyed by the historic Marshall Fire within just two weeks — staff evacuated with food still cooking and cash left in the registers.
- In her X (Twitter) bio, she introduces herself as: “Wife, Mother, Sister, Daughter, Friend to Friendly People, Reporter” — placing family roles before her professional title.
- In May 2026, her son — then a university student in Florida — had his computer screen hijacked mid-exam by the “ShinyHunters” hacker group that breached the Canvas academic platform, affecting over 275 million users nationwide; Acuna reported the story while personally experiencing its impact.
- She has appeared across a wide range of Fox News programs, including Outnumbered, The Five, Special Report with Bret Baier, Fox & Friends, Jesse Watters Primetime, and Your World with Neil Cavuto, among others.
- Acuna actively mentors young journalists, encouraging them to pursue internships and fellowships, and credits her total immersion in the campus TV station at NAU as the experience that most prepared her for a national career.
- Her mother, Alicia Soto Acuna, who gave up her own education to support her family, called her daughter her proudest accomplishment in life; she passed away in August 2023 at age 87.
References
Also check these biography profiles: Abby Hornacek, Alexis McAdams, Tomi Lahren, Lindsey Granger, Jake Traylor
