Hilary Barry (born 4 December 1969) is a New Zealand journalist and television personality. She is the co-host of Seven Sharp alongside media personality Jeremy Wells on TVNZ 1.
Barry won votes as the most popular television personality at the Qantas Media Awards. She was a full-time appointee as a newsreader at 6 pm with co-anchor Mike McRoberts. She has also lent her voice to the Great War Stories documentaries.
| Hilary Barry | |
|---|---|
 Hilary Barry started broadcasting in January 1992 at 89.3 Today FM. | |
| Quick Facts | |
| Birth name: | Hilary Ann Barry |
| Née: | Pankhurst |
| Born: | 4 December 1969 (age 54 years old) |
| Nationality: | New Zealander |
| Education: | Queen Margaret College |
| Alma mater: | Victoria University of Wellington |
| Occupation: | Broadcast journalist |
| Years active: | 1992-date |
| Employer: | TVNZ |
| Spouse: | Mike Barry |
| Children: | Finn and Ned |
| Relatives: | Dorothy Hall (great-grandmother) Jack Hall (great-grandfather) Liam Barry (brother-in-law) Kevin Barry (father-in-law) Emmeline Pankhurst (great-great-great aunt) |
Early Life
Hilary Barry was born Hilary Ann Pankhurst on 4 December 1969. She and her brother Andrew have memories of their great-grandparents Dorothy and Jack Hall.
Barry knew from a young age that her grandfather, Jack, had fought in the First World War. However, she was nine when Jack died but didn’t share his war experiences.
Education
Hilary schooled at Queen Margaret College in Wellington in 1980. She was the head girl in her final year and graduated in 1987. She studied for a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington and a Certificate of Journalism.
Career
Her radio started with her working as a reporter for radio 89.3 TODAY FM (now More FM Wairarapa), reading the morning news, and appearing in morning shows. She later joined RNZ in the Masterton office.
In 1993, Barry became a TV3 news reporter in Christchurch before joining 3 News as a reporter.
As a presenter on 3 News, she appeared on weekends for six years and later started anchoring the weeknight 3 News alongside Mike McRoberts in 2005.
Barry was voted Favourite New Zealand Female Personality at the 2006 Qantas Television Awards.
In February 2009, Hilary started working as a news anchor on the RadioLIVE breakfast show hosted by Marcus Lush and left in 2016. She won the Best News or Current Affair Presenter award at the 2011 Aotearoa Film and Television Awards.
Hilary became a news anchor at the Paul Henry show in 2015 and kept her role as a co-anchor of 3 News, then rebranded as Newshub. She resigned from MediaWorks in 2016 after working for the company for 23 years.
On her final day, she received a special video tribute from colleague Mike McRoberts.
In 2019, she received NZTV Awards and became a co-host of the 3 pm slot on ‘The Hits’ from 2020-2021. She quit TV3 amid rumors that she was heading to TVNZ. She won the ‘Favourite TV Personality’ award at the 2020 New Zealand Television Awards.
On 19 September 2016, Barry began to co-host Breakfast alongside Jack Tame but left in January 2018. She then joined Seven Sharp alongside Jeremy Wells.
Apart from her television success, Hilary is a talented singer who spent six years with the National Youth Choir.
Personal Life
Hilary Barry is married to a teacher, Mike Barry. She is a mother of two children – Finn and Ned. She and her husband, Mike, live close to the beach in the Auckland seaside suburb of Milford.
Barry lost her father to a heart attack in 1999, while her mother survived breast cancer. She has decided against being tested for the cancer gene.
References
- Donna Fleming (3 August 2014). “Hilary Barry’s family secret“. www.nowtolove.co.nz.
