Amanda Davis’ Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

amanda davis daughter, amanda davis family

Facebook Amanda Davis posted this photo on Mother's Day and wrote that it contained three generations.

Amanda Davis, the morning news anchor for CBS46 and a fixture on Atlanta television screens, who has tragically died after suffering a massive stroke, leaves behind a daughter who forged a career in Hollywood.

A well-known television personality in Georgia, Davis was open over the years about her troubles with alcoholism and other personal issues, including a failed engagement. That has a lot of people wondering about the anchor’s family in the wake of her death at age 62.

Davis was open about her family over the years, and her candor endeared her to many viewers. She recently posted on social media about the loss of her elderly father. She also wrote about her pride in the success of her daughter, Melora Rivera, a writer who has been involved in some big-name productions.

Here’s what you need to know:


1. Davis Died at the Airport While Waiting for a Flight to Attend Her Father’s Funeral

Tragically, Amanda Davis was traveling to a funeral for her beloved father when she herself was stricken and died. Her death was sudden and unexpected. According to CBS46, Davis died “after suffering a massive spontaneous stroke.” She was hospitalized at first after suffering the stroke while at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Tuesday, December 26. However, her Atlanta television station revealed on December 27, 2017 that she had passed away.

“Her family is asking for privacy at this difficult time. Amanda’s friends and colleagues at CBS 46 are praying for her family,” the station reported in a brief statement on its website. According to AJC.com, Davis, who was 62, was waiting to board a flight when she was stricken.

Davis was at the airport because she was “headed to San Antonio following the death of her father, when the medical episode happened,” according to 9News.


2. Davis Wrote About Losing Her Father on Twitter & Facebook Recently

Amanda Davis had written about death a lot recently: The death of her father. Some of her posts are now somewhat eerie in retrospect. On December 9, she shared a photo of her dad and wrote, “My dad, Theodore Roosevelt Davis, was relieved of his suffering today and is now at peace. This was taken on his birthday, September 30th. That’s my mom. I took her to see him because he had been sick. Good to see him smile. Love you Pops❤️??”

On December 24, Davis posted a Christmas message on Facebook that read, “The first Christmas after you lose someone is hard.” She captioned it, “Stay strong, keep praising the Lord ??❤️”

The comment thread is now filled with expressions of grief about Davis’ own death.


3. Amanda Davis Leaves Behind a Daughter, Melora Rivera

Amanda Davis started her career in North Carolina. According to a biography of her, “Her broadcasting career began in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the former NBC affiliate, WRET-TV. During her four years there, she became the main anchor and hosted a weekly magazine show. From Charlotte, Amanda moved on to the nation’s capitol where she worked as the Washington Correspondent for the Satellite News Channel. SNC was the first competitor to go up against CNN in the early days of cable news.” She then ended up on Atlanta television, where she would spend the majority of her award-winning career, with a special focus on highlighting foster care.

She does leave behind a daughter named Melora Rivera, according to her social media posts and previous news stories about her life. Former WSB Monica Pearson once said of Amanda Davis and a popular news segment she was known for: “When I think of her, I think of ‘Wednesday’s Child.’ In that feature, you saw a maternal instinct, you saw her warmth, you saw her compassion and you saw her love. She’s a mom but she’s a mom to everybody.”

A friend wrote on a blog about Melora and Amanda Davis: “After our newscast, I’d take Melora — in 4th grade or less at the time – to school while her mom did teases for the NOON newscast which she also anchored. I’d take Melora to Chick-fil-a for a breakfast sandwich and drop her off to her school before I’d head back to either help write the NOON news or before I’d head home. Melora is now a WOMAN and working in Hollywood.”

The biography, from one of her previous television stations, also confirms that Amanda had a daughter, whom she raised in Atlanta. For years, Amanda Davis “was anchor for WGCL-TV’s morning news and noon show. Before that, she had been a reporter and anchor for Atlanta’s Fox affiliate, WAGA-TV, prior to leaving the station in 2013,” 9News reported. According to AJC.com, “the Emmy-award winning journalist joined CBS 46 as a morning in January after spending 26 years at WAGA-TV. Davis retired from WAGA in 2012 following a DUI-related arrest.”


4. Melora Rivera Worked on Sparkle & Being Mary Jane

Amanda’s daughter is forging a career in writing for prominent television productions.

According to her IMDB profile, Melora Rivera “has been carving a path toward producing and directing her own material with years of industry work on television and feature film projects. Joining the Akil Productions team in 2011 as an assistant to Director Salim Akil, Melora worked on Sparkle (2012), The Game (2012-13) and Being Mary Jane (2013) before climbing up the ranks as a writer’s assistant and script coordinator during seasons one and two of BET’s Being Mary Jane.”

As news of Davis’ death spread, people offered tributes on Twitter. “Amanda Davis persevered through it all, despite the dark time she knew her purpose and it was her passion. We thought she retired then she fought her way through to get back to doing what she loved. Thank you! Wednesday’s Child is forever. Rest well,” wrote one man.

Many people in Atlanta had grown up with Davis on their television screens. “Grew up with Amanda Davis. I remember meeting and taking a picture with her when was about 8 or 9 yrs old,” recalled one woman on social media. Said another: “Man… May Amanda Davis rest in power. I grew up watching her. So sad to hear she has passed.”


5. Melora Rivera Once Escaped an Intruder & Davis Spoke of a Broken Engagement

In 2014, Melora was the subject of headlines around the world when she narrowly escaped an intruder who had broken into her home. “A Los Angeles woman fled onto her roof when a transient broke into her home Wednesday and terrifying photos have revealed how close the intruder came to finding her,” reported UK Daily Mail.

“Melora Rivera bravely crawled onto her Venice roof and had the wherewithal to take her cell phone and call police.” The photos show Melora cowering on a roof while the intruder peers over the home’s top.

Over the years, Amanda Davis also had her own travails, which she spoke publicly and openly about. She had spoken candidly about her battles with alcoholism. She also opened up about her romantic life and why she was not married, explaining that a failed engagement had helped spark her alcoholism and depression.

In May 2017, she discussed the engagement, saying, in a segment called “Amanda Davis: In Her Own Words,” that her “heart was broken after a failed 8-year relationship that included an engagement called off by my fiancé. My self-esteem suffered a major blow. So did my award winning career.”

“For the first time I began to feel my days were numbered at work. I knew how the industry operated: Women don’t get to age on TV. They’re replaced by younger, prettier ones. More and more, I felt like a fake on TV, pretending to have it all together when nothing could be further from the truth,” she wrote.