| Personal Information Summary | |
|---|---|
| Name | Orla Chennaoui |
| Age / How old / Birthday / Date of Birth / DOB | November 13, 1979. As of 2024, she is around 45 years old. |
| Wedding / Husband / Boyfriend / Marriage / Spouse | Married. Check the full bio for relationship details. |
| How many languages does Orla Chennaoui speak? | The multilingual TV sports presenter Orla Chennaoui speaks French, Dutch, German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. |
| Children / No. of Kids | 2 |
| Ethnicity / Origin / Heritage / Race | White |
| Nationality | Irish |
Introduction :
Orla Chennaoui (maiden name Orla Heron) is a TV Presenter. She was born and brought up in Drapers town in Northern Ireland.
Education : Qualifications, High School & College Info
- Chennaoui attended St. Mary’s Grammar School in Magherafelt. Later, she received a degree in law with French from Queen’s University Belfast and Université de Rennes in France.
- She followed it up with a Master’s degree in Journalism from Edinburgh Napier University.
Personal Life, Parents and Family Details :
- Orla is currently based in London with her family.
- Both her parents worked in the construction industry. She has an older sister, Karen & two younger brothers Cathal & Oran. Karen & Cathal work in construction as well while Oran works in music.
- Orla is married to her husband Mourad Chennaoui. Orla calls the Moroccan-born Mourad by his nickname, Mourr.
- They met each other when she was in Queen’s, studying at Rennes University in France. Her husband was also a scholar there. They also lived in the same residential tower.
- Mourad and Orla have two kids – An elder daughter born in 2015 and a second baby born in 2019.
- Due to her high-stress profession, she has to fly regularly for news coverage. However, she returns home every few weeks to meet her family, relatives and friends.
Professional Life : Career, Salary and Net Worth
- Upon completing her post- graduation, Orla joined a radio channel, 2-Ten FM in Reading.
- Her small screen debut happened with ITV Meridian (then known as Meridian Broadcasting) in Southampton.
- In 2006, Orla started work at Sky News as a Northern Ireland Columnist. Her, she covered sensational many sensational stories such as the Omagh bombing hearing, the assassination of former IRA member & British secret agent, Dennis Donaldson.
- In 2007, Chennaoui moved to Sky News’ Headquarters in London. There she covered the hearings of a serial murderer Levi Bellfield, 21/7 terror judgments, the rage over Mohammad & the Sudanese Teddy bear, the Iranian sailor hostage blockade, etc.
- At Sky News, she worked with Producer Lisa Hervey for covering Olympics news.
- In April 2019, after working with Sky News for over 13 years, Orla finally left the network and headed to join Eurosport, mainly for hosting their cycling coverage.
- Since March 2021 to date, she works as a MotoGP Presenter for Eurosport. Her additional role includes being the Cycling Presenter for Eurosport UK.
- Since 2016, Orla also serves as the Co-host of The Cycling Podcast Feminin, a monthly program following the races and developments in women’s cycling. She also contributes to the award-winning The Cycling Podcast, a weekly show covering news stories and race events in cycling.
Fun Facts, Feet, Height & Body Measurements :
- Orla is a former All-Ireland triple jump champion.
- Her early aspiration was to be an Olympic athlete or a journalist. Although her sports dream didn’t fructify, she made it big in journalism.
- Orla was a huge fan of watching television, media, and news channels in her childhood and teenage days. This motivated her to join journalism.
- During her childhood, the war journalists, particularly Orla Guerin, Kate Adie, and Sky’s Alex Crawford, were her inspirations.
