Early life
Cheryl Wills grew up in public housing in the Queens borough of New York City, the eldest of five children.1 Her father, Clarence Wills, was born on a former-slave plantation in West Tennessee and later became one of the first African American firefighters integrated into the FDNY, serving with Engine Company 1, Ladder Company 24 in Manhattan. He died in a motorcycle accident when Cheryl was thirteen, a loss that profoundly shaped her sense of purpose and family identity.1 All four of her grandparents lived through the Jim Crow-era South, and her maternal grandfather served in a segregated unit during World War I.1
The family's deeper history proved equally formative. Years of genealogical research eventually revealed that her great-great-great-grandfather, Sandy Wills, had been born enslaved in Tennessee, self-emancipated, and enlisted in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War to fight for the freedom of others.6 Sandy Wills died and was buried in an unmarked grave in Tennessee, where he remained for 135 years. Cheryl Wills' decades-long effort to locate and honor him culminated in August 2024, when Ohio Valley Archaeology exhumed his remains and he was reburied with full military honors at a military cemetery.6 CBS Sunday Morning covered the reburial nationally. The story formed the basis of the half-hour NY1 special that earned her the 2025 Emmy Award.4
She attended the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, earning a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.2
Career
Wills joined New York 1 News (now Spectrum News NY1) at the cable channel's 1992 launch, initially as a producer.2 She quickly moved in front of the camera as the network's medical reporter, spending nearly seven years on the health beat and breaking stories including coverage of female genital mutilation among African immigrant communities in New York City.1 She was named NY1's weekend evening anchor in 2002.1
As anchor and host, Wills has covered major events including the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash.1 She is the only NY1 journalist in the network's history to conduct a sit-down interview with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and she interviewed Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia's first female president.7 She received the UN Correspondents Association Medal of Excellence, presented by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.2 On March 25, 2011, Wills became the first journalist invited to speak at the UN General Assembly Hall for the International Remembrance of Victims of Slavery.7
In addition to her journalism, Wills has made recurring on-screen appearances as herself in the NBC drama Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and reporting cameos in feature films including Spider-Man 2 (2004), Freedomland (2006), Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), and Morbius (2022).1
Wills is a Commander and Lifetime Descendant Member of the Sons and Daughters of the United States Colored Troops.2
Books
Her discovery of Sandy Wills' story inspired a series of books. Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale was published in January 2011 and chronicles her 3x great-grandfather's journey from enslaved person to Union soldier.3 Subsequent books in the series include The Emancipation of Grandpa Sandy Wills, Emancipated: My Family's Fight for Freedom, and EMMA, each deepening the family narrative. In May 2022 she published Isn't Her Grace Amazing!, examining the history of women in gospel music. A children's edition of the Die Free story has also been published.
Awards and honors
- Emmy Award (2025), for the half-hour special on the reburial of Sandy Wills; first NY1 journalist to win an Emmy4
- Honorary Doctorate, Metropolitan College of New York (2025)4
- Gracie Award (2023), Alliance for Women in Media2
- UN Correspondents Association Medal of Excellence2
- Harold Dow Lifetime Achievement Award for extraordinary contributions to broadcast media1
- Carl T. Rowan Leadership in Media Award1
- YMCA National Black Achievers in Industry Award1
- McDonald's broadcasting legend honoree (2010)7
- Honorary Doctorate, New York College of Health Professions (2005)7
- New York Press Club and Associated Press awards2
- Named among New York's "remarkable women" by City and State Magazine2
Ghostbusters
Wills appeared as herself in Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), credited as NY1 News Anchor #2.5 In her on-screen moment, she reports that Mayor Bradley is currently meeting with diplomats at Lotus Leaf, a piece of reporting that fits into the film's running thread of the mayor and his staff publicly deflecting from the ghost events unfolding across the city.5 All NY1 News personalities in the film were cameos by real reporters and anchors from the station; Wills joined colleague Pat Kiernan (Anchor #1), Jeanine Ramirez, and Vivian Lee in the film's NY1 segments.
The NY1 News segments from the film carry over into IDW Publishing's comics set in the same continuity. The Ghostbusters 101 miniseries references NY1 News in panel backgrounds in issues 3 and 5.8
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
-
Dan's Papers, "High Profile: Cheryl Wills, NY1 Star Reporter" (April 2022), https://www.danspapers.com/2022/04/cheryl-wills-star-ny1-reporter-profile/, accessed 2026-06-13.
-
Spectrum News NY1, "Cheryl Wills" (on-air biography, September 26, 2017), https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/on-air/2017/09/26/cheryl-wills, accessed 2026-06-13.
-
Wills, Cheryl (January 3, 2011). Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale. Bascom Hill Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1935098409.
-
Metropolitan College of New York, "Metropolitan College of New York to Award Cheryl Wills and Michael Hastings the Doctor of Humane Letters at 2025 Commencement Ceremony" (May 9, 2025), https://www.mcny.edu/blog/2025/05/09/metropolitan-college-of-new-york-to-award-cheryl-wills-and-michael-hastings-the-doctor-of-humane-letters-at-2025-commencement-ceremony/, accessed 2026-06-13.
-
Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), dir. Paul Feig. Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures. Wills credited as "NY1 News Anchor #2"; the Lotus Leaf report appears in chapter 13.
-
Spectrum News NY1, "NY1's Cheryl Wills witnesses reburial of Civil War veteran family member" (November 9, 2024), https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/in-focus-shows/2024/11/09/ny1-s-cheryl-wills-witnesses-reburial-of-civil-war-veteran-family-member, accessed 2026-06-13.
-
Wills, Cheryl. "About the Author," willscivilwarhistory.com, https://willscivilwarhistory.com/about-the-author/, accessed 2026-06-13.
-
Ghostbusters 101 #3 (IDW Publishing, 2017), p. 6 panel 1: NY1 News headline panel referencing the 2016 film's coverage; Ghostbusters 101 #5 (IDW Publishing, 2017), p. 1 panel 3: news ticker changes from ABS News to NY1 News.
