Who is Jacob Soboroff? | Biography
Jacob Soboroff is an American journalist, television host, and nonfiction author. His biography includes immigration reporting, national politics, digital television, and disaster coverage. He hosts Connect with Jacob Soboroff on MS NOW and works as a senior political and national reporter. His books include Separated: Inside an American Tragedy. He also wrote Firestorm, about Los Angeles fires and America’s disasters. Both developed from major reporting assignments he covered directly.
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Born on March 27, 1983, in Los Angeles, Soboroff grew up in a family with deep local connections. His parents are Patti and Steve Soboroff. He attended Harvard-Westlake School before studying at New York University. He earned a politics degree in 2005 and a master’s degree in political theory and philosophy in 2006. His early presenting work included digital video and programs built around public conversation.
Before joining NBC in 2015, Soboroff helped launch HuffPost Live and hosted YouTube Nation. He also co-hosted TakePart Live on Pivot. Later, his reporting on the Trump administration’s child-separation policy became a major professional focus. He received Walter Cronkite and Hillman recognition for that work. His 2020 book Separated examined the policy’s development and consequences. Filmmaker Errol Morris subsequently adapted the book into a documentary released in 2024.
Soboroff covered the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, including the destruction of his childhood home. That experience informed Firestorm, published in January 2026. Meanwhile, his move into MS NOW’s expanded newsroom led to Connect, which launched in June 2026. The weekend program added a regular hosting role to his field reporting. Soboroff lives in Los Angeles with his wife, fashion executive Nicole Cari, and their two children.
Jacob Soboroff Age | How Old is Jacob Soboroff?
Jacob Soboroff is 43 years old as of October 26, 2026. He was born on March 27, 1983. A California birth-index transcription identifies Los Angeles County, while professional biographies describe Los Angeles as his birthplace. He turns 44 on March 27, 2027. The index transcription is a public-record finding aid, not a certified birth certificate.
Jacob Soboroff Height | How Tall is Jacob Soboroff?
Jacob Soboroff’s height is not reliably confirmed. Reviewed authoritative profiles do not establish a supported measurement in feet and inches or centimeters.
Jacob Soboroff Ethnicity
Jacob Soboroff comes from a publicly documented Jewish family background. His American nationality and Los Angeles birthplace remain separate from that heritage. Available authoritative profiles provide less detail about specific ancestral countries. Therefore, a broader list of ethnic origins would require evidence beyond his surname or family’s public profile.
Jacob Soboroff Education
Jacob Soboroff earned two degrees from New York University. He completed a politics BA in 2005. A master’s in political theory and philosophy followed in 2006. Previously, he attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. His graduate study followed directly after his undergraduate degree.
The educational sequence connects political institutions with the ideas underlying public debate. However, neither degree should be relabeled as a journalism qualification. NYU identifies him through both undergraduate and graduate alumni affiliations. His later career developed through presenting, producing, and field reporting rather than a separately documented journalism degree. In 2024, Yale recognized his work through its Poynter Fellowship in Journalism.
Jacob Soboroff Wife | Nicole Cari
Jacob Soboroff is married to Nicole Elizabeth Cari, a fashion executive. They married in 2012 and have two children. Professional and documentary-festival biographies describe their family home in Los Angeles. Cari maintains a career separate from her husband’s national television work.
The available record supports those basic relationship facts. It does not establish a reason to publish extensive private details about their household. Soboroff’s public reporting sometimes involves Los Angeles locations connected with his family history. However, his childhood home and his current family residence are different properties. That distinction became particularly important during coverage of the 2025 wildfires, when the house where he grew up burned.
Jacob Soboroff Children
Jacob Soboroff and Nicole Cari have two children. Publisher and festival biographies confirm that family size. Soboroff’s writing about disasters also considers the world future generations will inherit. However, his children’s private routines and schooling do not form part of the documented professional story. This biography therefore focuses on confirmed family information rather than unnecessary details about minors.
Jacob Soboroff Family | Parents and Los Angeles Upbringing
Jacob Soboroff’s parents are Patti and Steve Soboroff, and he grew up with four siblings. Steve’s public work includes real estate, civic leadership, and service on the Los Angeles Police Commission. Jacob’s childhood included living in Pacific Palisades before his family moved elsewhere.
During the January 2025 fires, he returned to his former neighborhood while reporting. He found the childhood house destroyed and spoke with his mother by video call. The episode connected a public disaster with a specific family history. It did not mean his current home had burned. Reporting at the time distinguished his memories of that property from the losses experienced by its contemporary occupants.
Jacob Soboroff Career | Digital Programs and National Reporting
Jacob Soboroff developed his media career through digital presenting before joining national television news. He became a founding host and producer of HuffPost Live, then hosted YouTube Nation. He also co-hosted TakePart Live on Pivot, discussing news and public issues. Those programs preceded his NBC arrival in September 2015.
At NBC and MSNBC, Soboroff expanded into national political reporting, immigration coverage, and substitute anchoring. His work on family separation produced a bestselling book and major journalism recognition. Later, he covered the Los Angeles wildfires and developed Firestorm. He moved into MS NOW’s independent newsroom as a senior political and national reporter. In June 2026, Connect added a regular weekend program to his reporting responsibilities across the network. His 2024 documentary adaptation, directed by Errol Morris, extended the family-separation investigation into film.
Jacob Soboroff MS NOW | Connect
Jacob Soboroff hosts Connect on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Time. MS NOW launched the program on June 13, 2026. Its arrival formed part of broader changes to the network’s daytime and weekend schedule. The assignment gave a longtime field correspondent a regular three-hour presenting platform.
His senior political and national reporting role continues alongside the show. That combination distinguishes him from a presenter whose work consists exclusively of studio discussion. Connect follows earlier experience moderating public conversations on digital and cable programs. Meanwhile, MS NOW’s current identity differs from the NBC News organization where he previously worked. Biographies that list only his former NBC position omit the later program and employer transition.
Jacob Soboroff Separated | Family Separation Reporting
Jacob Soboroff published Separated: Inside an American Tragedy in 2020. The book developed from reporting on the Trump administration’s separation of migrant families. Its focus includes policy decisions, implementation, and the experiences of affected parents and children. Soboroff’s reporting brought conditions inside detention facilities into national television coverage.
The book expands that immediate coverage into a longer account of how the policy operated. It also connects individual experiences with the officials and institutions responsible for implementation. His honors include the Walter Cronkite Award for Individual Achievement by a National Journalist. He also received the Hillman Prize. Those honors concern documented reporting. They should remain distinct from literary nominations attached to the book and later recognition for its documentary adaptation.
Jacob Soboroff Documentary | Separated and Errol Morris
Errol Morris adapted Soboroff’s Separated reporting into a documentary released in 2024. The film examines family separation through interviews, records, and reconstructed events. Its connection with the book extends the reporting into another medium. Soboroff also received a producing credit associated with the project.
The documentary is a released work rather than an announced future production. That distinction matters when listing his film-related credits. His principal career remains journalism, even though the adaptation adds documentary production to his record. The film and book address overlapping events through different storytelling methods. The book develops its chronology through documents and narration. The documentary presents interviews and visual material examining the same policy.
Jacob Soboroff Firestorm | His 2026 Book
Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster appeared on January 6, 2026. Mariner Books published Soboroff’s account of the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires. The book combines immediate reporting with later interviews about how the disaster unfolded. Its subjects include firefighters, residents, public officials, scientists, and emergency response.
Soboroff’s personal connection forms part of the narrative, including the destruction of his childhood home. However, the book extends beyond that experience. It examines the conditions surrounding the fires and the consequences for communities across Los Angeles. Its broader argument concerns disaster preparedness and the risks facing other places. The title therefore connects a specific regional catastrophe with questions about future emergencies, recovery, and public responsibility.
Jacob Soboroff Los Angeles Fires | Reporting a Personal Disaster
Jacob Soboroff reported from the Los Angeles fires while confronting losses connected with his own upbringing. His live coverage included returning to the Pacific Palisades street where he had lived. The destroyed house gave viewers a concrete example of the disaster’s reach. At the same time, residents across the region faced immediate evacuation, property loss, and uncertainty.
His later reporting included conversations with firefighters and political leaders, including Governor Gavin Newsom. Firestorm developed those encounters beyond the demands of daily broadcasting. The resulting account distinguishes what he witnessed during the emergency from questions investigated afterward. That sequence matters because a live report cannot establish every cause of a fast-moving disaster. The book provided space for additional reporting after the flames subsided.
Jacob Soboroff Awards and Recognition
Jacob Soboroff’s journalism honors include Walter Cronkite and Hillman recognition for family-separation reporting. His official biography also identifies multiple News and Documentary Emmy nominations. In 2024, he received a Yale Poynter Fellowship in Journalism. These distinctions reflect different aspects of his work and should not be treated as interchangeable awards.
His book Separated also received finalist recognition connected with literary and legal-publication awards. Meanwhile, his official website identifies Separated and Firestorm as New York Times bestsellers. A bestseller designation concerns book sales; it does not establish an award for television reporting. Keeping those categories separate provides a clearer account of his professional record across broadcasting, publishing, and documentary work.
Jacob Soboroff Salary
Jacob Soboroff’s current MS NOW salary is not publicly disclosed. His program and reporting appointments do not establish verified annual compensation.
Jacob Soboroff Net Worth 2026
No reliable public figure establishes Jacob Soboroff’s net worth in 2026. Television work, books, and documentary credits do not reveal complete personal finances. His father’s business activities also cannot establish Jacob’s individual wealth.
Biography Summary
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Jacob Hirsch Soboroff |
| Profession | American journalist, television host, nonfiction author, and documentary producer |
| Date of Birth | March 27, 1983; corroborated by birth-index transcription and biographical records |
| Age | 43 as of October 26, 2026 |
| Birthplace | Los Angeles, California; birth index identifies Los Angeles County |
| Nationality | American |
| Family Heritage | Jewish family background |
| Height | Not reliably confirmed |
| Education | NYU: BA in politics, 2005; MA in political theory and philosophy, 2006 |
| School | Harvard-Westlake School, Los Angeles |
| Parents | Patti and Steve Soboroff |
| Siblings | Four |
| Wife | Nicole Elizabeth Cari; married in 2012 |
| Children | Two |
| Home Base | Los Angeles |
| Current Network | MS NOW |
| Current Program | Connect; weekends, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. ET; launched June 13, 2026 |
| Reporting Role | Senior political and national reporter |
| Books | Separated, 2020; Firestorm, January 6, 2026 |
| Documentary | Separated, adapted by Errol Morris and released in 2024 |
| Selected Honors | Walter Cronkite Award; Hillman Prize; Yale Poynter Fellowship, 2024 |
| Salary | Current compensation not publicly disclosed |
| Net Worth | No reliable public estimate established for 2026 |




