Wendy Rieger, longtime NBC 4 Washington anchor, dies at 65 after battle with cancer

Wendy Rieger, a longtime anchor and reporter for NBC 4 Washington, died Saturday morning after a battle with Glioblastoma. She was 65.

Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images

According to NBC 4 Washington's website, Wendy passed away holding the hand of her husband, Dan.

In July 2021, Rieger announced that she underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor, and was getting treatment at Johns Hopkins after being diagnosed with Glioblastoma. Unfortunately, the cancer aggressively returned several weeks ago, and she entered hospice care.

Rieger retired from NBC 4 Washington last December to savor the rest of her life and start a new chapter. Following news of her retirement, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared Dec. 17, 2021, Wendy Rieger Day in the District. 

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Rieger graduated from American University in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She then started at NBC 4 Washington in 1988 as a reporter, on her way to becoming a fixture of broadcast journalism for nearly four decades. She started anchoring weekend evening newscasts in 1996, and then the afternoon news in 2001. 

Before her television career, which began at CNN’s Washington Bureau, Rieger worked at WAMU as a writer and host. She also worked as an anchor at WTOP.

Our thoughts and prayers here at Fox 5 are with Wendy Reiger's family and friends, as well as, everyone at NBC 4 Washington.