She is a Christian, is the mother of two children and is from eastern Nigeria. Her production company, Spectrum Broadcasting, produces a weekly current affairs program in Abuja. Anyanwu was editor in chief of the independent Nigerian newsweekly The Sunday Magazine in 1995 when she was sentenced to life in prison under the government of dictator Sani Abacha. She had served three years in prison when she was released after Abacha's death in 1998.