Tony Balkissoon: He Is a Lawyer of Asian Descent & Laura Jarrett's Husband

Tony Balkissoon is the husband of Laura Jarrett, one of America's most renowned television personalities. His life and career achievements have sparked public curiosity since marrying his beloved wife.

Tony Balkissoon, an Ivy League graduate from Canada, has spent the past eight years happily married to his wife, journalist Laura Jarrett, with whom he shares two adorable children.

Raised by immigrant parents, he has made significant contributions in both the legal and academic realms. While he has impressive accomplishments, Tony Balkissoon has been all praises of his wife's achievements.

Tony Balkissoon Is of Indian Origin

Tony hails from Toronto, Canada, where his parents, Bas and Tahay Balkissoon, raised him. Immigrants of Indian descent, Tony's parents moved to Canada from Trinidad in the early 1970s.

Although details about Tony's mother are scarce, his father, Bas, is a prominent figure in Canadian politics. Bas served as a Scarborough councilor from 1988 to 1997 and a City of Toronto councilor from 1998 to 2005.

In 2005, Tony's dad won a seat in the Scarborough-Rouge River by-election, becoming a Member of the Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the Ontario Legislature. However, Bas resigned in 2016 to spend more time with their family.

Tony Balkissoon Occasionally Appears on His Wife's Social Media

Tony is quite a private man with no known social media accounts. However, he often appears on his wife, Laura Jarrett's Instagram page, where the photos show him taking leisurely walks and reading books with one of their kids. He has also received loving posts from his wife.

The couple share two children — son James Anthony, born in 2019, and daughter June Tahay, born in 2022. Beyond being a loving mother to their kids, Tony's wife is a highly respected figure in the media industry.

Laura is a renowned broadcast journalist. She is the co-anchor of the "Saturday Today" show and the senior legal correspondent of NBC News. Tony supports his wife's career and admires her commitment to that field. He said:

"She works really hard; [she] makes her son very proud to see her on TV and see how hard she is in working, and how accomplished she is."

The couple met in law school and tied the knot in a beautiful wedding ceremony in Chicago in 2012. Their distinguished guests included former President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, and their two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

Interestingly, Tony's mother-in-law, Valerie Jarrett, was Barack's senior political advisor who managed the Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs and the Council on Women and Girls at the White House.

Tony Balkissoon Is a Committed Civil Rights Lawyer

Like his wife, Tony is also an accomplished man. According to his LinkedIn profile, he practices law at the esteemed civil rights firm Loevy & Loevy Attorneys At Law in Chicago.

One of his most notable legal achievements was in 2018 when he represented a man wrongly incarcerated for three decades in connection with a rape case from the mid-1980s.

Although Tony's client was released from prison in 2016, Tony supported him by initiating legal proceedings against the police for their misleading statements. "Hopefully the civil lawsuit, where everything comes to light, will bring him some sense of justice," he said.

Besides his legal practice in the firm, Tony holds the position of Vice President and Executive Counsel at John Jay College of Criminal Justice within the City University of New York (CUNY). In this role, he operates under the Office of Legal Counsel, offering legal advice to the institution.