Denisse Marie Oller (born September 30, 1955, in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican-American journalist, documentarian, entrepreneur, author, chef, and healthy living advocate. She is best known for her pioneering career as a news anchor and correspondent for Univision and Telemundo, the two dominant Spanish-language television networks in the United States.
Early Life and Education
Oller was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She graduated summa cum laude from University of Puerto Rico High School and attended the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, where she majored in Finance and minored in French. She later attended Hunter College in New York City, graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Media Studies and a minor in Interpersonal Communications. She pursued graduate studies at Seton Hall University and IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Spain. She also graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City.
Television Career
Oller began her television journalism career at Telemundo New York in 1985 as a news writer and general assignment reporter. One of her first major assignments was covering the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in January 1986.
In 1986, she became the first Puerto Rican and the first Latina to anchor a national Spanish-language weekend news broadcast in the United States when she was tapped to anchor Univision's "Weekend Edition" newscast. In 1992, she relocated to Miami to anchor "Primera Hora," Telemundo's early morning national news program. In 1995, she joined Raúl Peimbert as co-anchor of Noticiero Telemundo National News, which aired in the United States and 22 Latin American countries.
From 2000 to 2017, she co-anchored Univision-New York's 6 PM and 11 PM newscasts with Rafael Pineda, which consistently led in ratings in the tri-state area during those time slots.
As a field reporter, Oller covered the September 11 attacks, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the 1994 Northridge earthquake in California, President Bill Clinton's impeachment process, and Pope John Paul II's historic visit to Cuba.
Awards and Recognition
Oller has received nine Emmy Awards and five additional Emmy nominations. She won her first Emmy in 1991 for coverage of Gulf War heroes arriving in New York, marking the first time an Emmy was awarded to a Spanish-language station (Univision) in New York. She also received a National Emmy for her documentary "Hora Cero: Nicaragua in Transition."
She has received two Gracies from American Women in Radio and Television and an Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Journalism for her coverage of the U.S. Navy's withdrawal from the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Hispanic Business Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential Hispanic personalities in the United States.
Later Career and Advocacy
In 2006, Oller founded NEWSWORKS Productions, LLC, an independent multimedia consulting firm focusing on content for U.S. Hispanic audiences, wellness, and mental health. She officially ended her news career in November 2007 to pursue independent ventures.
From 2010 to 2016, she served as Executive Director of the Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute at Seton Hall University. She later served as Vice President of Media Relations and Engagement for SOMOS Community Care, a non-profit network serving Medicaid recipients in underserved New York City communities.
Oller has been a chef-collaborator for AARP and has appeared on Fox's Good Day NY, NBC's Today Show, Martha Stewart Living, Food Network's Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and CNN en Español, advocating for healthier lifestyles and food choices for the Latino community.
