Charles Perez was born Charles Dabney. Perez is his mother's maiden name.

Perez was a weekday reporter and the weekend anchor at WABC-TV in New York City until 2006. He then took a weekend anchor position at WPLG-TV in Miami. He co-anchored the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. weekend editions of Eyewitness News with Sandra Bookman.

He is best known as anchor of King World's nationally syndicated news magazine show American Journal. In addition to hosting an eponymous short-lived talk show, The Charles Perez Show[1], syndicated by Tribune Entertainment in 1994, Perez has also worked for Los Angeles' KCAL-TV and Miami's WSVN-TV and as a producer of The Ricki Lake Show and The Montel Williams Show.

In 1992 Charles Perez made his first television appearance when he dated Norman on the first Real World on MTV. Although the relationship lasted only a few weeks, it was to be fateful for the yet to be talk show host. A member of ACT UP and Queer Nation, Charles's life took a turn for the closet when he was offered his own talk show, The Charles Perez Show and later became host of American Journal.

And so began the second coming out odyssey for a man who marched for gay rights, but seemed unable to come out later as a public figure. Fear of job loss and the hurting of his career kept him from being out, but not for long. Charles's presentation is the truth about Hollywood, homosexuality, and a very personal experience of overcoming internalized homophobia.