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Personal life
Rehm was born to a Turkish father [ Upon graduation she was employed by the city's highways department, where she took a liking to working as a radio dispatcher. ]
Rehm married John Rehm, her second husband, in 1959 and they remain married. She has two grown children, David and Jennifer.
Trouble with her voice forced Rehm to take a hiatus from vocal broadcasting in 1998. Rehm was later diagnosed with Spasmodic Dysphonia (SD). *
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Career
Rehm started in radio in 1973 [ as a volunteer for WAMU's The Home Show. In 1979, she took over as host of WAMU's morning talk show, Kaleidoscope, which was renamed The Diane Rehm Show in 1984.]
In its current incarnation, Rehm has interviewed high-profile political and cultural figures including Bill Clinton, John McCain, Madeleine Albright, Sandra Day O'Connor, Ralph Nader, Arlo Guthrie, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Maurice Sendak and Maya Angelou. Of all of her interviews, Rehm has said that her most touching interview was that with Fred Rogers of the PBS program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood done just prior to Rogers' death.
In 1998, Rehm's voice gained a distinctive warble due to her developing neurological disorder spasmodic dysphonia (SD).
She has written two autobiographical books. The first, Finding My Voice, published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, dealt with her traditional upbringing in a Christian Arab household, her brief first marriage and divorce, her 42 year marriage to John Rehm, the raising of her children, and the first 20 years of her radio career, including her battles with depression and SD.
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Honors and awards
A partial list of Rehm's honors and awards:
2003 Calvary Women's Services Hope award. Honoring her volunteer and professional work for women in need.
2003 Montgomery County Chapter of the National Organization for Women's Susan B. Anthony Award. Honoring her advocacy of women's right in the community.
2002 & 2000 Women in Communications. Honoring excellence in communications.
2000 Fellow of the Society of Professional Journalists Honoring extraordinary contributions to the journalism.
1999 Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian Magazine.
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Trivia
On Tuesday, December 6, 2005, guest Dan Burstein discussed Wikipedia with Rehm, alerting her to the fact that she likely had a biographical entry .*
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See also
WAMU at American University
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