Amy Cole, the longtime executive assistant to Stephen Colbert, was remembered in an emotional tribute at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards after her passing in March 2024. Having worked with Colbert for over a decade on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and other projects, Amy was admired not only for her professionalism but also for her dedication, warmth, and impact behind the scenes.
"I want to dedicate this to my mom and dad, her mom and dad and a young woman who should be here tonight, Amy Cole," Colbert, 61, said during the ceremony.
Read on to know more about who Amy Cole was, her life, career, and personal journey.Career highlights
Amy Cole, who worked as Stephen Colbert’s assistant for 16 years, passed away in March 2024 at the age of 53 after a brief illness, as reported by Deadline. She had been Colbert’s executive assistant on The Late Show with
Stephen Colbert and also held credits on The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News, and Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn.
Tributes and remembrance
According to Deadline, Cole had been battling cancer. After her passing, The Late Show paid tribute to her with a memorial card at the end of an episode that read, “Dedicated to our dear friend Amy Cole, 1970–2024.” She was also remembered in the “In Memoriam” segment at the 76th Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2024.
"Words cannot measure how big a loss Amy Cole is to this world,” Late Show director and producer Jake Plunkett wrote on X at the time. “F--- cancer.”
An obituary for Cole described her time working with Colbert as “more than a job.” It said the role gave her purpose and allowed her to shine as “an incredible teammate to everyone involved.” She was deeply loved by her Late Show family and will be greatly missed.
Athletic background and early life
Amy has an athletic background of her own. Born on January 10, 1989, in California, she studied at Foothill High School before moving on to UCLA. It was there that she met her future husband, star baseball player Gerrit Cole.
According to People, Amy played softball at UCLA and was part of the Bruins team that made history by winning the Women’s College World Series in 2010. Today, she enjoys a strong presence on social media, with over 64.4K Instagram followers, where she often shares glimpses of her life.
Relationship with Gerrit Cole
Gerrit Cole and Amy Cole’s relationship began years ago during their time at UCLA. Both athletes, they quickly formed a bond—Amy played on the softball team while Gerrit was pursuing his baseball career.
Recalling their first meeting, Gerrit told Inside Weddings that Amy was the “prettiest girl he had ever met” and he was eager to get to know her. However, fate had other plans—although he asked her out, Amy didn’t go on a date with him until a year later.
Recalling her decision to go on the first date with Gerrit, Amy said to Inside Weddings, "I was moving into my new apartment, and Gerrit drove an hour and a half after a wedding just to help me move. My mom was there with me, and he showed up with a bouquet of flowers for her birthday. That's the day I decided to take him up on that first-date offer from the year prior."
Years later, after a brief long-distance relationship, Gerrit proposed to Amy in 2015. The couple tied the knot on November 12, 2016, at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton in Santa Barbara, California. After four years of marriage, they welcomed their first child, Caden Gerrit Cole, in June 2020. Their second child, Everett Cole, was born on January 2, 2023.
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