Carl Bernstein was born February 14, 1944, in Washington, DC, and raised in nearby Silver Spring, Maryland. His parents were social activists and members of the American Communist Party. He began working as a copy boy at The Washington Evening Star at age sixteen, and after finishing high school attended classes part-time at the University of Maryland. He eventually began contributing stories at the Star and in 1965 moved to New York City to work as a reporter at the Elizabeth Daily Journal in New Jersey. After one year at the Journal, Bernstein returned to Washington, DC, and took a reporter position at The Washington Post. Along with Woodward, Bernstein broke the story of Watergate.

He is a contributing editor of Vanity Fair