Andrea Thompson Quits As CNN Anchor

By Elizabeth Darst

03/15/2002 at 11:00 AM EST

After making her shocking move from actress to newswoman in April 2000, Andrea Thompson, 42, is surprising people again with the news that, after a nine-month run as the anchor of CNN's "Headline News," she's quitting, reports the Associated Press. "I decided to leave my position as anchor of CNN 'Headline News' after several weeks of careful consideration," Thompson said in a statement. "I have enjoyed anchoring at 'Headline News' but have decided that it is time for me to make a change in my daily professional life." Thompson declined to give specifics about her leaving her post, but, according to the AP, some speculated that her frequent 14-hour days prevented her from spending time with her 9-year-old son, Alec. In April 2000, after playing Detective Jill Kirkendall on ABC's police series "NYPD Blue" for four seasons, Thompson first announced that not only was she leaving the show but that she was going to become a reporter for a local station in Albuquerque, N.M. But soon after her stint at KRQE-TV, she was hired by CNN to anchor "Headline News," a move which generated publicity for the all-news network. Variety reports that CNN has already named Sophia Choi as Thompson's replacement.