daily CNN International news programme while based in London. In late 2012, Rajpal moved from London to Hong Kong. She hosted two shows that had their first broadcasts at the beginning of 2013: CNN NewsCenter and TalkAsia. CNN NewsCenter is a news programme that discusses international headlines, while TalkAsia is a weekly programme that interviews an internationally known person for 30 minutes. Notable people she has interviewed for CNN include Mikhail Gorbachev, Vicente Fox, Al Gore, Tom Ford, and I. M. Pei. Rajpal left CNN on 4 July 2014. Personal life Rajpal was born on 20 February 1974 in Hong Kong to "a Chinese mother of Indian origin and an Indian father". Her maternal grandfather moved from Punjab to Shanghai at 16 years old. Her mother was raised in Shanghai and became an electronics company executive. Rajpal is Sikh and has a brother. Rajpal grew up in Hong Kong and at age 14 immigrated with her family to North York in Toronto, Canada. She attended A. Y. Jackson Secondary School where she took part in its Amnesty International club. Upon seeing Rajpal present to a crowded assembly hall, the vice principal requested that she deliver the school's morning broadcasts. Her guidance counsellor, who knew about her broadcasting work, recommended that she submit a college application to the radio and television arts program at Ryerson Polytechnic University, which she attended. Her parents had wanted her to be a physician. Her uncle worked at RTHK. Her mother listened to radio news broadcasts on the radio all day which introduced Rajpal to the news business. She is fluent in Cantonese, English, French, and Punjabi. Rajpal said her pop icons are the band U2, the architect Frank Gehry, the artist Damien Hirst, and Oprah Winfrey. Rajpal resides in Wiltshire in South West England with her husband and their son. She blogs on her news and lifestyle blog, The Citrine Room. References External links Personal website CNN profile of Monita Rajpal 1974 births Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Canadian people of Indian descent Canadian Sikhs Canadian television news anchors Hong Kong emigrants to Canada Hong Kong people of Indian descent Living people Punjabi people Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Canadian women television journalists Journalists from Toronto CNN people