Andrea Thompson resigns anchor post at CNN Headline News

ATLANTA - Andrea Thompson, a former actress on ``NYPD Blue&#39;&#39; who left acting for a career in broadcast journalism, resigned from CNN Headline News Thursday after nine months with the network. <br> <br> The 42-year-old Thompson joined CNN Headline News in June after working for nearly a year at KRQE-TV an Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was an integral part of the network&#39;s August relaunch of its Headline News brand. <br> <br> Her last day on the air was Wednesday. <br> <br> In a statement released by CNN, Thompson said, ``I decided to leave my position as anchor of CNN Headline News after several weeks of careful consideration. I have enjoyed anchoring at Headline News but have decided that it is time for me to make a change in my daily professional life.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> A CNN source speaking on condition of anonymity said Thompson&#39;s work days often stretched to 14 hours, severely limiting the time she spent with her nine-year-old son, Alec. Company officials said Thompson declined interview requests Thursday. <br> <br> CNN officials said Thompson&#39;s decision was her own. <br> <br> The executive vice president and general manager of CNN Headline News, Rolando Santos, said ``We&#39;re grateful for her hard work and her contributions to Headline News. We wish her the very best.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Thompson&#39;s hiring stirred controversy among some CNN insiders after nude photos of her circulated on the Internet. <br> <br> The photos were still shots of Thompson taken from a 1986 Italian film ``Manhattan Gigolo&#39;&#39; and other photos from Black and White magazine. <br> <br> Thompson, who played Detective Jill Kirkendall on the ABC police drama until 1999, defended the pictures as an irrelevant part of her former modeling career. <br> <br> Sophia Choi and Stephen Frazier will anchor the evening broadcast on an interim basis.