Meet Katy Tur's parents, Zoey Tur and Marika Gerrard, and her brother
Katy Tur grew up in a family deeply connected to journalism. Her parents, Zoey Tur (formerly Bob Tur) and Marika Gerrard, shaped her early exposure to news. She was raised alongside her brother, James Tur, in a household where reporting and storytelling were part of daily life.
Source: Getty Images
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Katy Tur's parents, Zoey Tur (formerly Bob Tur) and Marika Gerrard, were married in the early 1980s and divorced in 2003.
- Her parents co-founded the Los Angeles News Service, a pioneering helicopter news reporting company.
- Katy's father, Zoey Tur, revealed her transgender identity to the public in June 2013.
- Katy Tur’s brother, James Tur, works as a physician and largely keeps his life out of the public spotlight.
Profile summary
Full name | Katherine Bear Tur |
Gender | Female |
Date of birth | 26 October 1983 |
Age | 42 years old (as of March 2026) |
Zodiac sign | Scorpio |
Place of birth | Los Angeles, United States |
Current residence | Houston, Texas, United States |
Nationality | American |
Ethnicity | White |
Religion | Christianity |
Sexuality | Straight |
Height in feet | 5'8" |
Height in centimetres | 173 |
Weight in pounds | 143 |
Weight in kilograms | 65 |
Hair colour | Blonde |
Eye colour | Brown |
Father | Zoey Tur |
Mother | Marika Gerrard |
Siblings | 1 |
Marital status | Married |
Partner | Tony Dokoupli |
Children | 4 |
School | Brentwood School |
University | University of California |
Profession | Journalist, author |
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Meet Katy Tur's parents: Zoey Tur and Marika Gerrard
Katy Tur’s parents, Zoey Tur (then known as Bob Tur) and Marika Gerrard, met in Los Angeles in 1978 at the Westwood Bruin Theatre. Their early relationship thrived on adventure. Gerrard recalled their unconventional beginnings in interviews for the documentary Whirlybird:
It was never a movie date or a dinner date with Bob. It was a car crash or an air crash or a fire date.
Zoey Tur and Marika married in the early 1980s and co‑founded the Los Angeles News Service. Zoey piloted the helicopter while Marika filmed breaking news from the air. The pair became pioneers in aerial reporting, covering major events like the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the O. J. Simpson low-speed police chase for national television.
Their reporting earned them several accolades, including three Television News Emmy Awards and an Edward R. Murrow Award. Katy Tur reflected on her unique upbringing in a 2021 CBS Sunday Morning interview (aired 12 June 2022), telling CBS News:
When I was a kid they were the coolest people in the world. We had a helicopter. I got to go up in a helicopter. I knew how to fly a helicopter! it was a really unique and interesting childhood that nobody else had.
Zoey and Marika’s marriage and professional partnership lasted over two decades before ending in divorce in 2003.
Here's a closer look at each of them.
Zoey Tur
Source: Facebook
Zoey Tur was born Robert Albert Tur on 8 June 1960 in Los Angeles County, California. Tur was raised in a Jewish family. She is a journalist and TV personality recognised for her long and unconventional career.
In 2013, Zoey publicly came out as transgender and adopted her current name. That same year, she called her daughter, Katy, to share the life-changing news. Katy later recounted this pivotal phone call in her 2022 memoir, Rough Draft, and during a CBS News interview:
My dad said, 'I am a woman.' And I said, 'What?' And my dad said, 'I'm a woman. I'm transitioning. I'm gonna become a woman.' And I remember being at first puzzled, saying, 'You've gotta be joking. You kidding? What are you talkin' about?'
When she made history as a national correspondent for Inside Edition, she famously emphasised her professional identity:
I am not covering stories as a transgender reporter. I’m a reporter who is transgender.
Today, Zoey Tur is known both for her journalism and for her advocacy for transgender awareness.
Marika Gerrard
Source: Facebook
Marika Gerrard, born on 10 December 1954 in Los Angeles, is a media producer and a camera operator. She is best known for covering breaking news from the air. Gerrard earned a Master’s degree in Philosophy from UCLA.
Katy's mother worked on projects such as Circadian Rhythm (2005), When %#! Happens: Air, Sea and Land (1999), and A New Tomorrow (2007). She became widely known through the documentary Whirlybird. The film highlights her co‑founding of the Los Angeles News Service and her pioneering aerial news coverage.
In Rough Draft, the 2022 memoir by her daughter Katy Tur, Gerrard reflected on the risks of their work in an interview featured by CBS News, saying:
Now that I think about it, I think, 'This was ridiculous that the both of us were up in the air doing this dangerous stuff, and we have two kids. And what was gonna happen if something happens to both of us?… It was too much excitement. Too much fun. It really was. It was exciting and it was fun.
James Tur: Meet Katy Tur's only sibling
James Tur, Katy Tur’s younger brother, grew up with her in Los Angeles, United States. Unlike his parents and sister, he pursued a different career path, becoming a physician. James earned his MD from Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in 2018. His sister celebrated the milestone on X, writing:
Sorry I missed my show today but .... my brother graduated from medical school today and I couldn't be a prouder older sis! Now we have a doctor in the family. A Doctor Tur. DocTur?
The American physician then graduated in 2023 from a five-year combined Internal Medicine and Psychiatry residency at UC Davis Medical Centre.
Does Katy Tur have a relationship with her father?
Katy Tur’s relationship with her father, Zoey Tur, has been complicated and largely estranged for over a decade. In her 2021 memoir Rough Draft: A Memoir and accompanying interviews, she described growing up in a turbulent home. Reflecting on her childhood, the American author recalled:
Something would set him off, and he would get so, so out of control that he would throw his fist through a wall. And it happened often. I mean, we would go to the store, buy plaster, plaster them up.
She added:
The violence was always there. It felt like it was normal, like that was just how a relationship worked. It got angry, it got violent. You, you yelled and you screamed, and then everything was fine.
Despite their estrangement, her dad has publicly expressed regret for her past actions. In a 2022 video interview with CBS News for CBS Sunday Morning, Zoey stated:
I’m not hiding anymore. And if it takes an act of public humiliation in front of a camera to make Katy feel better and feel vindicated, so be it. I’m happy to do that. I love her that much.
Source: Getty Images
FAQs
- Who is Katy Tur's father? Katy's father is Zoey Tur (formerly Bob Tur), a pioneering helicopter news reporter and co-founder of the Los Angeles News Service.
- Who is Katy Tur's mother? Her mother is Marika Gerrard, a journalist, videographer, and co-founder of the Los Angeles News Service.
- When did Zoey Tur come out? Zoey Tur publicly came out as transgender in June 2013.
- When did Katy Tur's parents divorce? Her parents divorced in 2003 after being married for more than two decades.
- Does Katy Tur have siblings? She has a younger brother named James Tur.
- Who is Katy Tur's family? The reporter's family includes her father, Zoey Tur, her mother, Marika Gerrard, and her brother, James Tur.
- How old is Katy Tur? Katy is 42 years old as of March 2026. She was born on 26 October 1983.
Katy Tur's parents, Zoey Tur and Marika Gerrard, shaped her early life before she became a journalist. They were pioneering helicopter news reporters who co-founded the Los Angeles News Service. Katy was raised alongside her brother, James Tur.
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Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
