Early life

Born in Anderson, South Carolina, Parker attended the College of Charleston, where she was a sister of Alpha Delta Pi and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She then went on to receive a Master of Arts in Education from The Citadel. After graduating, Parker taught English Literature at North Charleston High School.

Her first television broadcasting job was for WCSC-TV in Charleston, South Carolina, where she was an education reporter and fill-in anchor.

Pageant participation

After winning Miss South Carolina USA, Parker competed at Miss USA 1994. She came into the semi-finals in first place, having won all three preliminary competitions. After the semi-finals, she went into the Top 6 in second place. After the judges' question, she just made the cut in the final three in third place, eventually becoming the third South Carolinian to be crowned Miss USA. She continued on to compete in the 1994 Miss Universe Pageant in Manila, Philippines, where she placed among the top 6 finalists and finished 4th overall.

Communications career

In San Antonio, KABB TV hired Parker to serve as a weekend anchor and reporter. Parker was promoted to main anchor in 2000. In February 2003, she became the host for "Great Day SA", which is San Antonio's top-rated live entertainment morning show. In January 2005, she moved to Los Angeles to join Frank Buckley as co-anchor for KTLA's "KTLA Prime News" on weekends. In 2007, Lu began to co-anchor the weekday "KTLA Morning News" at 5:00 A.M and 6:00 A.M. with Cher Calvin. In January, 2008 she became the main weather anchor for KTLA Prime News. She later returned to anchor the weekend evening news alongside Lynette Romero when Markina Brown was hired as the new weeknight meteorologist.

Parker has made appearances on "Larry King Live" and E! Entertainment Television. She also supports the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).

Personal

Parker began a relationship with Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles, in March 2009. Her employer, KTLA, was reportedly unaware of this fact until May 2009. Ms. Parker reported several stories on Villaraigosa prior to publicly revealing her relationship with him. Villaraigosa and Parker split in May 2012.

Animal advocacy

In 2010 Parker founded the Lu Parker project, whose stated mission is to "improve the lives of at-risk youth and homeless animals through direct service, education, and advocacy."

[ Source: Wikipedia ]