Miami

What to know about Tom Llamas, the Miami native who is leading NBC's ‘Nightly News'

Tom Llamas, a Miami native, is set to make history on Monday by being the first Hispanic person to lead a network evening newscast.

0:00
0:00 / 2:18
NBC Universal, Inc.

Tom Llamas’ friends and family celebrated his NBC Nightly News debut with a watch party in West Miami. NBC6’s Jamie Guirola reports

Tom Llamas, a Miami native, is set to make history on Monday by being the first Hispanic person to lead a network evening newscast after longtime anchor Lester Holt announced he will be stepping down from NBC's "Nightly News."

Llamas has an extensive background in journalism and is a senior national correspondent and anchor of “Top Story with Tom Llamas,” an evening newscast that streams on NBC News NOW. He will continue to anchor “Top Story” each weeknight, NBC News executive vice president of programming Janelle Rodriguez wrote in a message to staff.

Watch NBC6 free wherever you are

Watch button  WATCH HERE

His journey started in South Florida.

South Florida roots

Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.

Newsletter button  SIGN UP

Llamas was born in Miami in 1979 and is the son of Cuban immigrants.

He attended Belen Jesuit Preparatory School and graduated in 1997.

Llamas also started his journalism career in South Florida, where he interned at Telemundo 51 and worked as an overnight production assistant.

In 2000, Llamas became a production assistant at NBC News, where he became a correspondent for WTVJ and a local anchor for NBC New York.

About five years later, he came home to take his first on-air reporting job for NBC6/ WTVJ.

Llamas was the go-to reporter during his time at WTVJ. When major news broke, NBC6 sent Tom. He covered the devastation from Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf coast, the Virginia Tech shooting massacre, the Castro government’s influence on the exile community in Miami, and countless other local stories. 

NBC6 Impact: Tom Llamas ready for his debut on NBC Nightly News
Jackie sits down with Tom Llamas ahead of his debut on NBC Nightly News. 

He spoke about his South Florida ties when talking to NBC6 anchor and host of NBC6 Impact Jackie Nespral.

"I'm a product of South Florida, I grew up here, my parents are Cuban-American, I had the honor of working here at NBC6, and all of those experiences shaped who I was," he said. "Growing up in South Florida, I learned very quickly, if you work hard, you believe in yourself, you're a good person, your dreams will come true."

During his interview with Nespral, Llamas discussed the significance of him being the first Hispanic evening news anchor for "Nightly News."

"I know there will be lots of Hispanic kids out there watching and saying maybe my last name isn't Brokaw or Jennings or Williams or Holt but it's Gomez or Martinez or Nespral or Llamas, and I too can one day, can maybe reach that pinnacle."

Llamas graduated from Loyola University in New Orleans with Bachelor of Arts degrees in broadcast journalism, as well as drama and speech. Llamas also completed a program at the University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies, which focused on Raul Castro and Cuban American voters.

Some of Llamas' other accomplishments include serving as the ABC's chief national affairs correspondent and anchoring weekend editions of “World News Tonight.”

You can see Llamas on "Nightly News" weekly starting at 6:30 p.m.

Contact Us