Mary Chao Biography
Mary Chao is a media personality serving as an NYC-based Specialty Reporter at Scripps News covering real estate and Asian American issues. She joined Scripps News in January 2023. Previously, she was a columnist and staff writer at The Record.
Mary Chao Age
Chao is in her 50s. However, her birthday is unknown.
Mary Chao Height
She is 5 feet 4 inches tall.
Mary Chao Nationality
She is Chinese.
Mary Chao Education
Chao is a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School and New York University.
Mary Chao Family
Chao is an immigrant from Taipei, Taiwan, and an English language learner. She spent her tween and teen years in Queens where her family operated a small grocer.
Mary Chao Husband
Mary is married to a Marine Colonel. She met her Marine Colonel husband while studying at New York University. The couple is blessed with a daughter.
Her daughter was born in the aftermath of a terrorist attack prematurely. For her Chinese name, Mary named her He Ping, meaning “peace,” with the hope that the world she was born into would somehow find peace. She ended up in the neonatal intensive care unit, severely jaundiced with a high fever.
He Ping grew up with her Marine dad a world away, first in the Pacific and Asia and then in Iraq. The U.S. military was stretched to the limit in the years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with multiple deployments common for reservist citizen soldiers.
On Chinese New Year’s Eve in January 2006, as the couple’s 4-year-old daughter and her mum Mary were out ringing in the year of the wood dog with friends, their home burned down.
“We returned to see it all in flames. We were homeless — mother, daughter, and Dalmatian — with the Red Cross desperately trying to reach our Marine in Iraq to let him know what happened,” Mary recalls.
She spends her free time with home remodeling, dragon boat racing, Kali martial arts, exploring ethnic eateries, visiting baseball parks, and enjoying Broadway show with her daughter.
Mary Chao Scripps News
Mary is an NYC-based Specialty Reporter at Scripps News covering real estate and Asian American issues. An award-winning print journalist and columnist of over 25 years, most recently at The Bergen Record NorthJersey.com. She joined Scripps News through the Journalism Journey Initiative program transitioning veteran print journalists to broadcast.
Mary Chao Salary
Her annual salary ranges between $20,000 – $70,000.
Mary Chao Net Worth
She has an estimated net worth ranging between $1 million – $5 million.
Mary Chao Instagram
You can find her on Instagram @marychaostyle
