Denise D'Ascenzo

On January 29, 2020, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced that he had signed a proclamation declaring Thursday, January 30, 2020, as "Denise D'Ascenzo Day" in the State of Connecticut in recognition of the news anchor’s birthday.

On December 7, 2019, D'Ascenzo died in her sleep at her Branford, Connecticut, home. She was 61 years old. Her family suspects that the cause of death was a heart attack.

In 2015, she became the first woman to be inducted into the Connecticut Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.

In 2013, she was inducted to the Silver Circle, an honor bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for her contributions to broadcasting.

For 33 years, from 1986 until her death in 2019, she worked at WFSB-TV, becoming the longest-serving anchor at the station. At the time of her death, D'Ascenzo was also the longest-serving news anchor at any Connecticut television station.

In 1980, during her senior year at Syracuse University, D'Ascenzo landed her first television job at WIXT-TV in Syracuse, where she reported on the weather forecast segment. After graduating magna cum laude from Syracuse with dual degrees in broadcast journalism and political science, she began working full-time as a reporter for WIXT.

Denise D'Ascenzo Cooke (January 30, 1958 – December 7, 2019) was an American television news anchorwoman at WFSB-TV in Hartford, Connecticut. She worked there for 33 years (1986–2019), becoming the longest-serving anchor at WFSB-TV. D'Ascenzo was also the longest-serving news anchor at any Connecticut television station.

D'Ascenzo was married to her husband Wayne Cooke (born 1955) and have one daughter.

Born in Washington, D.C., D'Ascenzo grew up in suburban Rockville, Maryland. The daughter of Salvatore Joseph D'Ascenzo (1925–2000) and Rita D'Ascenzo, she was one of four sisters.