What To Know
- NBC News anchor Morgan Radford and her husband David Williams announced the birth of their second daughter, Marcelena Adelola (“Lola”) Radford Williams.
- Radford shared that she returned to Atlanta for the birth to be surrounded by family and a supportive medical team.
- Friends and colleagues have expressed their congratulations on social media.
It’s happy news for NBC News Daily co-anchor Morgan Radford, who has announced the birth of her second child, a baby girl named Marcelena Adelola (“Lola”) Radford Williams.
Radford shared the news in a joint Instagram post with her husband, David Williams, writing, “Welcome to the world, Marcelena Adelola (“Lola”) Radford Williams! Our world is already so much brighter with you in it.”
She also explained that she looked to the past for inspiration for her new baby’s name. “When I was doing family research for my debut novel Now Then, I came across the name Marcelena in my father’s family papers,” she wrote. “They immigrated from Jamaica and Cuba. Marcelena was the daughter of a Spanish Jew named Henriques, and when we saw the name sitting in my family’s living room, we immediately knew that was it.”
“Amazingly, Marcelena was also born on the Cuban Independence Day from Spain,” Radford added. “Adelola means ‘the crown brings honor and wealth’ in Yoruba, the language spoken by my husband’s father who is from Nigeria.”
Radford, who is also mom to daughter Lana (3), spoke to People about her newborn. “My birth was exceptional,” she told the outlet. “I made the last-minute decision to come back to Atlanta to be surrounded by family, and to be surrounded by doctors who are acutely aware of the crisis of Black female mortality in this country.”
She went on to thank Dr. Sarah Rose Lane and “her diverse team of highly skilled women at Northside Hospital” who made her “feel like a superhero as I pushed for over an hour to bring my second angel into this beautiful world.”
As for how baby Lola is settling in, the author stated, “My family is so thrilled to have little Lola in our lives —none more so than her 3-year-old big sister Lana. The pure excitement I saw on Lana’s face when she entered the hospital room, jumping up and down to see ‘her baby,’ and the pride she showed walking down the hallways to introduce everyone from the food service delivery providers to the doctors [to] ‘mi hermanita,’ was so affirming and beautiful.”
Friends and fans jumped into the Instagram comments to share their congratulations, including MS NOW’s Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, who wrote, “HOOOORAAaayyyy MARCELENA!!!!!!”
NBC New York anchor Natalie Pasquarella added, “A beautiful blessing! Congratulations my friend! Many blessings to you, your adorable girls & hubby! Can’t wait to celebrate!”
PBS NewsHour co-host Geoff Bennett wrote, “Thrilled for you and David and your family of four! Congratulations!”