Jim Avila Wife, Illness, Cause of Death, Family, Net Worth, Ethnicity
Jim Avila Biography – Jim Avila Wiki
Jim Avila was an American journalist. He was a former longtime ABC News senior national correspondent and 20/20 correspondent based in Los Angeles before departing from the network in 2021. In 2023, he joined ABC affiliate KGTV-TV in San Diego as senior investigative reporter.
Avila joined ABC from NBC News, where he had served as National Correspondent for “Nightly News” since January 2000. Prior to NBC, Avila was anchor and the investigative reporter for KNBC in Los Angeles from 1994 to 1996. There he was the principal reporter on the O.J. Simpson criminal trial, helping the station earn the 1995 Golden Mike Award and a 1996 Emmy Award, according to his ABC News official biography.
Before joining at KNBC, Avila was political reporter and anchor at WBBM-TV, the CBS owned station in Chicago, covering a variety of news stories of local, national and international importance, including the Persian Gulf War from both Saudi Arabia and Tel Aviv. Among his notable stories were the Beirut War, the TWA hijacking, the Nicaraguan civil war and the Mexican earthquake.
From 1980 to 1984, he was a general assignment reporter for WLS, the ABC owned station in Chicago. Prior to that, he was a weekend anchor and the San Jose bureau chief for KPIX in San Francisco from 1976 to 1980. He began his broadcast career at KCBS Radio in San Francisco in 1973 as managing editor and was later promoted to bureau chief.
Awards and Honors
The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Avila earned a National Emmy Award for his coverage of the destruction of Grand Forks, North Dakota by flood and fire, and another Emmy for covering the fate of undocumented workers during the Southern California wildfires in 2008.
He has received five Edward R. Murrow Awards and was awarded the prestigious Cine Golden Eagle Award for his portrayal of an immigrant couple who put their son through M.I.T by collecting reusable cans from the streets of Los Angeles. Avila was awarded the Mongerson Prize for Investigative Reporting in 2004 and has also received five Chicago-area Emmy Awards in the category of Spot News.
In 1999, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists honored him with reporter of the year. In addition, he garnered three Peter Lisagor Awards from the Headline Club of Chicago, winning for his coverage of the Peru drug wars and the death of Mayor Harold Washington, and was named Best Reporter of 1989.
Jim Avila Age
James Joseph Simon was born on July 26, 1955, in Los Angeles, California, to parents James Wesley Simon and Eve Simon. He passed away on November 12, 2025 in San Diego. He was 70.
Jim Avila Wife
Jim Avila was likely not married at the time of his death. There’s no mention of a wife on his obituary.
Jim Avila Children
Veteran journalist Jim Avila had three children, Jamie, Jenny and Evan.
Jim Avila Family
Avila is survived by his mother, Eve Simon; his sister, Karie Simon; his brother Tom Simon — formerly of Fox News and CNN and now of Williston Trending Topics; and his brother Jaie Avila, an investigative reporter for NBC affiliate WOAI in San Antonio. He is also survived by his children, Jamie, Jenny, and Evan.
Avila is preceded by his father, James Wesley Simon, who was a vice president of both CBS News and Mutual Broadcasting. He is also preceded by his brother Christopher Simon, who died in 2020
Death
Former longtime ABC News senior correspondent Jim Avila died on November 12, 2025, at age 70 after a long illness. His death was announced in a statement by ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic.
“Jim was a gifted journalist and a generous colleague,” Karamehmedovic said in an email to staff. “We send our heartfelt condolences to his family, including his three children, Jamie, Jenny, and Evan, and we thank him for his many contributions and unwavering commitment to seeking out the truth.”
Jim Avila Health
Jim Avila underwent a kidney transplant in 2018. His brother Jaie said Jim suffered a painful decline after his kidneys failed. Jim wanted to avoid dialysis and quickly arranged the transplant. In an interview with Adweek after the surgery, Avila said that without the transplant, he was “just a week or so from being put in the hospice.”
“The surgery for me was also quite an ordeal,” he told Adweek. “But overall, when it’s all said and done, of course it was worth it. I have a future. I didn’t think I did.”
“The kidney transplant allowed him to see one of his children get married, as well as the birth of his two grandchildren, so that was a tremendous blessing,” said Jaie.
Jim Avila Cause of Death
A cause of death was not revealed.
Jim Avila Net Worth
Award-winning journalist Jim Avila had an estimated net worth of $5 million.
Jim Avila Ethnicity
Jim Avila was of Hispanic ethnicity. Born James Joseph Simon, Avila changed his name so as to lean into his Mexican heritage.
“I decided to take my mother’s maiden name out of pride for the Hispanic people,” he said in a speech at St. Philip’s College in 2015, as recounted by The Junior Ranger, the student newspaper at San Antonio College.
