Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
name	Ann Curry
birth date	November 19, 1956
birth place	Guam, United States
alma mater	University of Oregon
occupation	Television personalityTelevision journalist
years active	1978–present
gender	Female
status	Married
title	Correspondent/Anchor
spouse	Brian Ross
children	McKenzieWilliam Walker
credits	''Today Show''   (1997–present)''Dateline NBC''   (2005–present) ''Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade''   (2011–present)
url	http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12536386/ }}

Ann Curry (born November 19, 1956) is an American television news journalist and co-anchor on NBC's morning television program ''Today''. She is the former news anchor on ''Today'', a role she began in March 1997, and has been host of ''Dateline NBC'' since May 2005.

Curry is a Board Member at the IWMF (International Women's Media Foundation).

Biography

Curry was born in Guam to Bob Curry, of French, Irish, and Dutch descent from Pueblo, Colorado, and Hiroe Nagase, originally from Japan. Her American father, a career Navy man, met her mother during the U.S. occupation of Japan following the Second World War. The U.S. military initially did not allow the marriage, but her father returned to Japan two years later to marry Nagase.

Curry lived in Japan for several years as a child, attending the Ernest J. King School on the military base in Sasebo. Later she moved to Ashland, Oregon, where she graduated from Ashland High School. In 1978 she graduated with a BA in Journalism from the University of Oregon.

Curry is married to software executive Brian Ross, whom she met in college. They have a daughter, McKenzie, and a son, William Walker Curry Ross. The family lives in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of New York City.

Professional career

Curry began her broadcasting career in 1978 as an intern at then, NBC-affiliate, now CBS-affiliate KTVL in Medford, Oregon. There she rose to become the station's first female news reporter. In 1980, Curry moved to NBC-affiliate KGW in Portland, where she was a reporter and anchor.

Four years later, Curry moved to Los Angeles as a reporter for KCBS-TV and received two Emmy Awards while working as a reporter from 1984 to 1990.

In 1990, Curry joined NBC News, first as the NBC News Chicago correspondent then as the anchor of NBC News at Sunrise from 1991 to 1996. Curry also served as a substitute news anchor for Matt Lauer from 1994 to 1997 at Today. From 1997 to 2011 she served as news anchor at Today, being the show's second-longest serving news anchor, behind Frank Blair, who served in that capacity from 1953 to 1975. During this time, she also served as a substitute anchor for Today. In May 2005, Curry was named co-anchor of ''Dateline NBC'' with Stone Phillips; she remained as the primary anchor when Phillips left in June 2007. Since September 2007 Curry has been one of the three anchors for TODAY's third hour.

Curry has been known at NBC News for anchoring three of the four major broadcasts. She has read the news on ''The Today Show'' since March 11, 1997, she has anchored Dateline NBC. From 2005 to 2011, she was the primary substitute on NBC Nightly News. In 2007 after Lester Holt took over weekend editions (Holt had previously been the primary substitute but left that position to become weekend anchor, giving Curry the position). There have even been days when Curry has anchored all three broadcasts in one day. A segment on ''Today'', Ann on the Run, follows Curry around a day where she must read the news on ''Today'', tape ''Dateline'', and fill in live for Brian Williams on ''Nightly News''.

Curry is known for her international reporting of major stories, filing stories from places such as Baghdad, Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Albania, and Darfur. Curry hosted NBC's primetime coverage and highlights of the Live Earth concerts on July 7, 2007 and also contributed with interviews for the special with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Al Gore. Curry reported from the USS Theodore Roosevelt during the invasion of Afghanistan in November 2001, and had an exclusive interview with General Tommy Franks. She reported from Baghdad in early 2003, and then from the USS Constellation as the war in Iraq began. Ann was also the first network news anchor to report from inside the Southeast Asian tsunami zone in late 2004.

On December 17, 2007, Curry bungee jumped off the world famous Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough, England to raise money for charity. Her jump was shown live on the Today show at about 8:13 am. During a February 4, 2008, appearance as a guest on NBC's ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', asked if she would ever bungee jump again, Curry said she would if O'Brien would jump with her.

In 2009, Curry appeared as an Agent in ImprovEverywhere's 'I Love Lunch! The Musical'.

Ann Curry replaced Meredith Vieira as co-host on June 9, 2011, with national correspondent Natalie Morales replacing Curry as news reader.

In August 2011, Ann Curry appeared in the PBS Kids Sprout "Kindness Counts" PSA.

Volunteerism

Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Americares Save the Children Médecins Sans Frontières Airline Ambassadors Buildon

Awards

Emmy Awards, presented for coverage of the 1987 Los Angeles earthquake; another presented for reporting on the explosion of a San Bernardino gas pipeline, and a third in 2007 for her reporting on NBC Nightly News about the Darfur crisis.

Golden Mic (4), presented by Radio & Television News Association of Southern California (RTNA)

''Certificate of Excellence'', Associated Press

Gracie Award, presented by The Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television

''Excellence in Reporting'', presented by the NAACP

''National Journalism Award'', presented by the Asian American Journalists Association, 2003

''Pioneer Award'', presented by University of Oregon, 2003

Hall of Achievement induction, University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, 2002 ''Sexiest Newscaster'' and "Hottest MILF Newscaster" as voted on by readers of Ask Men magazine

Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service, presented by PNC Bank for outstanding achievements in mass communications, 2008

''Honorary Doctorate in Journalism'' from Southern Oregon University on 6/5/2010 after giving the commencement address

Curry received an honorary degree from Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island on May 16, 2010.

She received an honorary doctorate from the Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts on May 22, 2010. There she delivered the graduation keynote address. However, she gaffed as she cited several famous alumni, only one of which graduated from that college. The others graduated from the Wheaton College near Chicago. Curry apologized for the gaffe.

Funded scholarship

''Ann Curry Scholarship for University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication Broadcasting Students'', 2002

References

External links

Bio on About.com

Category:NBC News Category:American television reporters and correspondents Category:American television news anchors Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of Japanese descent Category:American people of Scotch-Irish descent Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Television news anchors in Los Angeles, California Category:People from Ashland, Oregon Category:Guam journalists Category:American journalists of Japanese descent Category:Portland, Oregon television anchors Category:University of Oregon alumni Category:1956 births Category:Living people Category:Guam people of Japanese descent Category:American women journalists Category:People from Guam

fr:Ann Curry nl:Ann Curry ja:アン・カリー pl:Ann Curry fi:Ann Curry

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
name	Meredith Vieira
birthname	Meredith Louise Vieira
birth date	December 30, 1953
birth place	East Providence, Rhode Island, United States
occupation	JournalistGame show host
years active	1975–present
spouse	Richard M. Cohen (1986–present)
children	3
credits	''Dateline NBC'' (2006–present)''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' (2002–present)''Today'' (2006–2011)''The View'' (1997–2006)''60 Minutes'' (1989–1991)''West 57th'' (1985–1989) }}

Meredith Louise Vieira (born December 30, 1953) is an American journalist, television personality, and game show host. She is best known for her roles as the original moderator of the ABC talk program ''The View'' and co-host of the long-running NBC News morning news program, ''Today''. She contributes to ''Dateline NBC'' and currently hosts the syndicated version of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'', having replaced Regis Philbin in 2002. She also presented ''Intimate Portrait'', a series on Lifetime.

Early years

Vieira was born in East Providence, Rhode Island, to Mary Louisa Elsie Rosa Silveira Vieira (October 28, 1904 – November 5, 2004) and Dr. Edwin Vieira (May 15, 1904 – February 1987), both first generation Portuguese Americans. All four of Vieira’s grandparents came from the Azores, three from Faial Island, one of the nine islands in the archipelago. They all left for a better life in New England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries – settling around Providence, RI. She is the youngest of four children, with three older brothers. Vieira was raised Roman Catholic, but has stated in recent interviews that she has "spirituality, not a religion." Vieira attended the Lincoln School, a Quaker all-girls school in Providence. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in English from Tufts University and began her career in 1975 as a news announcer for WORC radio in Worcester, Massachusetts. She began a career in television working as a local reporter and anchor at WJAR-TV Providence, eventually making her way into the newsroom at WCBS-TV in New York City where she was an investigative reporter from 1979 to 1982.

Career

Vieira first gained national recognition as a CBS reporter based in their Chicago bureau from 1982 to 1984. She later became a correspondent for nationwide news-magazine shows including ''West 57th'' (1985–89) and ''60 Minutes'' (1989–91). Her final assignment at CBS was as co-anchor of the ''CBS Morning News'' (1992–93). She moved to ABC initially as a correspondent for the news-magazine show ''Turning Point'' (1993–97). Following the cancellation of ''Turning Point'', Vieira realized:

''The View''

Vieira served as the original moderator and co-host of ABC's ''The View'' from its debut in 1997 through the spring of 2006. As moderator, she introduced "Hot Topics," guided conversations, and broke to commercials. She began each live episode saying "Hello! And welcome to ''The View!''" Vieira's final appearance on ''The View'' was June 9, 2006. Her co-hosts gave her a roast to commemorate her final appearance.

In August 2006, Vieira told ''Time'' that she hasn't watched ''The View'' since she left the show, except the episode when Star Jones announced she was leaving. She said it was "very sad" what's happened to it: "I'm proud of the work we did there, but it's not a good time in the history of the show... It's hard to watch. It sort of became a joke." On August 29, 2006, Vieira told the ''New York Post'' that she didn't mean that ''The View'' was a joke. She said the interview was taken out of context. "I felt that the media was turning [''The View''] into a joke, not that the show was a joke," she says. ''Time'' added a clarification to its website, saying "[Vieira] assures ''Time'' that in no way were her comments meant to be insensitive or derogatory..."

In 1999, Vieira began hosting Lifetime's ''Intimate Portrait'', which chronicles the lives of women in art, entertainment, politics, business, science, journalism, and sports.

''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire''

Vieira has hosted the American syndicated version of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' since 2002—a continuation of the primetime show hosted by Regis Philbin. The daytime quiz show is syndicated by Buena Vista Television, a division of ABC. In 2005 and again in 2009, Vieira won a Daytime Emmy Award as ''Outstanding Game Show Host'' for her role on ''Millionaire''. As an executive producer, Vieira has a financial investment in the show.

Vieira was a celebrity contestant on the Philbin version of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' before she hosted the syndicated version, winning $250,000 for her charity. She even made an appearance on the ABC version during the show's 10th anniversary series, hosting its final segment while Philbin himself was given the opportunity to answer one question in order to win $50,000 for his selected charity.

''Today''

Vieira accepted an offer to succeed Katie Couric as co-anchor of ''Today'' on April 6, 2006, the day after Couric announced that she would depart the show to become anchor of the CBS Evening News. Vieira hosted the show with Matt Lauer from September 13, 2006 through June 8, 2011, also becoming a contributing anchor for ''Dateline NBC''. The following day, Vieira announced on ''The View'' that she would be leaving the show to be co-anchor of ''Today'', a role ''View'' co-host and ABC News journalist Barbara Walters had filled nearly four decades earlier during her tenure at NBC during the 1960s and 1970s.

Vieira continued as host of ''Millionaire'' while appearing on ''Today''. As part of her contract with ''Millionaire'', Vieira agreed not to appear on ''Today'' during hours that would conflict with the airing of the game show on competing stations. As a result, she rarely appeared on the third or fourth hours of ''Today''. Her first appearance during the third hour came on June 25, 2008, for "''Today'' Throws a Wedding". She also appeared during the entire third hour during the Beijing Olympics, Vancouver Olympics and the Barack Obama inauguration on January 20, 2009.

Vieira announced on May 9, 2011 that she would depart as co-host in the following month, but would remain at NBC News in an as-yet undetermined role. Her last appearance was on June 8.

Other appearances

Vieira "hosts" a spoof of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'', called ''Who Wants to Be King of the Jungle?'' on the second disc of the Special Edition DVD of ''The Lion King 1½''. Timon the Meerkat serves as the contestant; Pumbaa as an audience member for the "Poll the Herd" lifeline as well as being the "Phone an Animal" lifeline.

Vieira is a former spokesperson for Bayer, serving as an on-air personality in their commercials.

In 2000, she hosted the Academy Awards pre-show for ABC. Vieira had a brief stint in the Broadway show ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' in 2003, appearing in various scenes.

Vieira had a cameo as the host of a proposed game show in the 2004 version of ''The Stepford Wives''.

Vieira also hosts a series of featurettes that are included on the first season DVDs of the ABC television show ''Desperate Housewives''. Vieira interviews cast members and the show's creators in California. Vieira was required to sign a secrecy agreement in order to allow her access to script secrets.

Vieira made her first guest appearance on ''The View'' since leaving the show on Monday, Oct. 8, 2007.

Vieira had a guest appearance in the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock'' in the episodes "Greenzo" and "Larry King." In another episode, it is implied that she sexually harasses Kenneth Parcell.

Vieira made a cameo role as a news reporter in ''Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa''.

Vieira made an appearance as Broomsy Witch in ''Shrek Forever After''.

Vieira made an appearance on the "Chumdog Millionaire" episode of ''Pawn Stars'', in which, in a dream sequence, she reads the million dollar question to Chumlee.

Vieira appeared in the 2010 film ''Get Him to the Greek'' as herself in a scene where the main characters appear on ''The Today Show''.

Vieira made an appearance on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' as herself in a scene where she wanted to be the 300,000th audience member of the show, but instead was the 300,001st.

Vieira is set to make a cameo appearance in the sixth series finale of ''Doctor Who''.

Personal life

Vieira married Emmy-award winning CBS News journalist Richard M. Cohen on June 14, 1986. They reside with their three children in Irvington in Westchester County, New York. Richard Cohen has had multiple sclerosis since he was 25 years old, and has had two bouts of colon cancer, one in 1999 and one a year later.

Balancing family and career

Vieira joined ''60 Minutes'' in 1989 following the birth of her first child. Don Hewitt, executive producer of ''60 Minutes'', allowed her to work part-time for two seasons so she could care for her child. After that, she would work full-time. But after two years, she became pregnant again and asked to continue the part-time arrangement. Hewitt declined her request, deciding instead to hire someone who would work full-time. Her departure from the show garnered headlines, as a national debate started to take place about whether women could balance both family and career. She turned down opportunities to co-host ''The Early Show'' on CBS, and ABC's ''Good Morning America'' when her children were young.

Vieira discusses her family and career decisions in the book ''Divided Lives: The Public and Private Struggles of Three American Women'' by Elsa Walsh.

Honors

In 2006, Vieira received the P.T. Barnum Award from Tufts University for her exceptional work in the field of media and entertainment.

Career timeline

1985–1989: ''West 57th''

1989–1993: ''60 Minutes'' correspondent

1992–1993: ''CBS Morning News'' co-anchor

1993–1997: ''Turning Point'' correspondent

1997–2006: ''The View'' moderator

2002–present: ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' host

2006–present: ''Dateline NBC contributing anchor

September 2006–2011: ''Today co-host

June 2011–Present: NBC News Special Correspondent

References

External links

Meredith Today Meredith Vieira's official blog at iVillage.com

Goldberg, Alan B. Meredith Vieira talks about husband's MS, cancer battles." ABC7Chicago. February 2, 2004.

Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:People from East Providence, Rhode Island Category:American people of Portuguese descent Category:60 Minutes correspondents Category:American game show hosts Category:American television news anchors Category:American television reporters and correspondents Category:American television talk show hosts Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:American women journalists Category:NBC News Category:American people of Azorean descent Category:Tufts University alumni Category:Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

de:Meredith Vieira es:Meredith Vieira fa:مریدیت ویرا fr:Meredith Vieira pt:Meredith Vieira fi:Meredith Vieira

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
name	Katie Couric
birthname	Katherine Anne Couric
birth date	January 07, 1957
birth place	Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
marital status	Widow
education	University of Virginia
occupation	Television journalist
years active	1979–present
spouse	Jay Monahan (1989–1998; his death)
children	Elinor Tully "Ellie" MonahanCaroline Couric Monahan
salary	$14,000,000
credits	''The Today Show'' ''Dateline NBC'' ''CBS Evening News'' ''60 Minutes'' ''Katie (2012)'' }}

Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric (born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and author. She currently serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ''ABC World News'', ''Nightline'', ''20/20'', ''Good Morning America'', '' This Week'' and primetime news specials. Starting in Fall 2012, she will host ''Katie,'' a daytime talk show on ABC. She has anchored the ''CBS Evening News,'' reported for ''60 Minutes'', and hosted ''Today''. She was the first solo female anchor of a weekday evening news program on one of the three traditional U.S. broadcast networks. Couric's first book, ''The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary'' was a ''New York Times'' best-seller.

Early life and career

Couric was born in Arlington, Virginia, the daughter of Elinor Tullie (née Hene), a homemaker and part-time writer, and the late John Martin Couric Jr., a public relations executive and news editor at ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' and the United Press in Washington, D.C. Her mother was Jewish, but Couric was raised Episcopalian. Couric's maternal grandparents, Bert Hene and Clara L. Froshin, were the children of Jewish immigrants from Germany. In a report for ''Today'', she traced her paternal ancestry back to a French orphan who immigrated to the U.S. in the nineteenth century and became a broker in the cotton business.

Couric attended Arlington Public Schools: Jamestown Elementary, Williamsburg Middle School, and Yorktown High School and was a cheerleader. As a high school student, she was an intern at Washington, D.C. all-news radio station WAVA. She enrolled at her father's alma mater, the University of Virginia, in 1975 and was a Delta Delta Delta sorority sister. Couric served in several positions at UVA's award-winning daily newspaper, ''The Cavalier Daily''. During her third year at UVA, Couric was chosen to live as Head Resident of The Lawn, the heart of Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village. She graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in English with a focus on American Studies.

Television career

Couric's first job was at the ABC News 1979 bureau in Washington, D.C., later joining CNN as an assignment editor. Between 1984 and 1986, she worked as a general-assignment reporter for WTVJ in Miami, Florida. During the following two years, she reported for WRC-TV, the NBC owned-and-operated station in Washington, D.C., work which earned her an Associated Press award and an Emmy.

NBC

Couric joined ''NBC News'' in 1989 as Deputy Pentagon Correspondent. From 1989 to 1991, Couric was an anchor substitute and filled in for Bryant Gumbel as host of ''Today'', Jane Pauley, and Deborah Norville as co-anchor of ''Today'', Garrick Utley, Mary Alice Williams, and Maria Shriver as co-host of Sunday ''Today'', and John Palmer, Norville, and Faith Daniels as anchor of the former NBC News program ''NBC News at Sunrise''. She also subbed for Daniels, Norville, and John Palmer as the news anchor on ''Today''.

''Today'' (1991–2006)

In 1989, Couric joined ''Today'' as national political correspondent, becoming a substitute co-host in February 1991 when Norville had a baby. Norville did not return and Couric became permanent co-anchor on April 5, 1991. In 1994, she became co-anchor of ''Now with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric''—an evening time weekly TV newsmagazine with Tom Brokaw—which was later canceled and folded into part of ''Dateline NBC'', where her reports appeared regularly and she was named contributing anchor. She remained at ''Today'' for fifteen years with co-host ''Matt Lauer'' and NBC News until May 31, 2006, when she announced that she would be going to CBS to anchor the CBS Evening News, becoming the first solo female anchor of the "big three" weekday nightly news broadcasts.

While at NBC, Katie Couric occasionally filled in for Tom Brokaw on ''NBC Nightly News''. From 1989-1993, Couric also filled in for Maria Shriver on the Sunday Edition of ''NBC Nightly News'' and for Garrick Utley on the Saturday Edition of ''NBC Nightly News.

Couric hosted or worked on a number of news specials, like ''Everybody's Business: America's Children'' in 1995. Similar entertainment specials were ''Legend to Legend Night: A Celebrity Cavalcade'' in 1993, and ''Harry Potter: Behind the Magic'' in 2001. Couric has also co-hosted the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. She has broadcast with Bob Costas, beginning with the 2000 Summer Olympics. She did not co-host the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Turin, Italy because of a scheduling conflict with a live taping of ''Today''. Brian Williams co-hosted with Bob Costas instead.

Couric has interviewed many international political figures and celebrities during her career, including Presidents Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and First Lady Barbara Bush. John F. Kennedy Jr. gave Couric his first and last interviews. Couric has won multiple television reporting awards through her career, including the prestigious Peabody Award for her series ''Confronting Colon Cancer''. Couric has also interviewed former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Senator Hillary Clinton (her first television interview), Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, and Laura Bush.

On May 28, 2008, Couric made a return visit to ''Today'' since leaving almost two years to the very day back on May 31, 2006. She made this appearance alongside her evening counterparts, NBC Nightly News' Brian Williams & ABC World News' Charles Gibson, to promote an organization called ''Stand Up to Cancer'' and raise cancer awareness on all three major television networks; ABC, CBS & NBC. Couric, Gibson and Williams made appearances together on all three major network morning shows, first on CBS's ''Early Show'', then on NBC's ''Today'' and finally on ABC's ''Good Morning America''.

CBS

''CBS Evening News'' (2006–2011)

Couric announced on April 5, 2006 that she would be leaving ''Today''. CBS officially confirmed later the same day that Couric would become the new anchor and managing editor of ''CBS Evening News'' with her first broadcast set for September 5, 2006. Couric would also contribute to ''60 Minutes'' and anchor prime time news specials for CBS. Couric would remain the highest-paid news anchor at $15 million per year.

Couric made her first broadcast as anchor and managing editor of the ''CBS Evening News with Katie Couric'' on September 5, 2006. The program featured a new set, new graphics, and a new theme composed by prolific movie score composer James Horner. The program also featured a voice-over from Walter Cronkite. It was the first evening newscast to be simulcast live on the internet and local radio stations.

CBS had heavily hyped Couric's arrival at the network, hoping to revive the evening news format, but there were suggestions that it had backfired. Although there was much interest during her first week as anchor, ''CBS Evening News'' has remained a distant third in viewership, behind ''ABC World News'' and ''NBC Nightly News''. While Couric improved over Bob Schieffer, ABC's Charles Gibson has since been widening World News' lead over Evening News.

The ''CBS Evening News with Katie Couric'' has won the 2008 and 2009 Edward R. Murrow Award for best newscast. On March 29, 2009, Couric was awarded with the Emmy Governor's Award for her broadcasting career.

She has interviewed countless presidents, cabinet members, celebrities, and business executives around the world, including President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former President George W. Bush, Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, John Edwards just after their announcement that Mrs. Edwards' cancer had returned, Israeli Foreign Prime Minister Tzipi Livni, Norah Jones and Michael J. Fox.

Couric led CBS News' coverage of the 2006 midterm elections, the 2008 Presidential election and conventions, and 2010 midterm elections. Couric was the first network anchor on the ground in Port au Prince after the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. After the BP oil spill Couric anchored from the Gulf Coast weekly and brought much attention to the disaster. She reported from Cairo's Tahrir Square during the Egyptian Revolution in 2011. In April 2011, she led CBS News' coverage from London for the Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton.

Couric was the only solo female evening news anchor in the United States, until December 21, 2009, when she was joined by Diane Sawyer, who succeeded the retiring Charles Gibson for ''ABC World News''. Couric and Sawyer were previous rivals as the hosts of ''Today'' and ''Good Morning America'', respectively.

On April 26, 2011, Couric confirmed in an interview with ''People'' magazine that she would be leaving her anchor post at ''CBS Evening News'' when her contract expired on June 4, 2011. Katie Couric made her final broadcast in the ''CBS Evening News'' chair on Thursday, May 19, 2011.

''60 Minutes'' (2006–2011)

Couric was a ''60 Minutes'' correspondent and contributed six to eight stories a year for the program. Her most famous segment was the first interview with airline pilot Chesley Sullenberger. She also interviewed Valerie Plame, Robert Gates, and Michelle Rhee for the program.

The Palin interviews (2008)

The Sarah Palin interviews with Katie Couric were a series of interviews Couric conducted with 2008 U.S. Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. They were recorded and broadcast on television in several programs before the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Couric received the Walter Cronkite Award for Journalism Excellence for the interview. Steve Schmidt, McCain's senior campaign strategist and advisor, later reflected on the interview, saying "I think it was the most consequential interview from a negative perspective that a candidate for national office has gone through."

CBS Reports (2009–2011)

Couric was the lead reporter for two CBS Reports series, which aired across all CBS News platforms. The first series, "CBS Reports: Children of the Recession," highlighted the pain suffered by the youngest of the Great Recession's victims. The series won the Columbia School of Journalism's Alfred DuPont Award for Excellence in Journalism. The second series, which aired in early 2010, was "CBS Reports: Where America Stands'.' which featured veteran CBS News correspondents reporting on major issues facing the United States in the decade ahead with research by the CBS News Polling Unit.

''@katiecouric'' (2009–2011)

Couric hosted a weekly, one-hour interview program on CBSNews.com. The launch of the webshow signaled that Couric would stay at CBS until her contracted expired in 2011.

Her first guest was Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck. Subsequent interviews have included former Vice President Al Gore, actor Hugh Jackman, recording artist Shakira, First Lady Michelle Obama, and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, teen singer Justin Bieber, actress Jane Lynch, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, actor Daniel Radcliffe, Bill Gates, former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees, and author Malcolm Gladwell.

ABC

''Katie'' (2012-)

On June 6, 2011, ABC announced that Couric will begin hosting a daytime talk show for its Disney-ABC Domestic Television arm that would debut in September 2012, replacing the now-defunct ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' on ABC owned-and-operated stations. Couric would also contribute to ABC News programming.

On August 22, 2011, it was announced that Katie Couric's talk show will be called ''Katie''. It was also announced that the airing of the first episode of ''Katie'' will be on September 6, 2012.

Public image

Couric has been called "America's Sweetheart" largely due to her co-anchor role for 15 years on ''The Today Show''. On May 12, 2003, Couric guest-hosted ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' as part of a swap campaign, and had 45 percent more viewers than on other nights. She has been the only guest host used by Jay Leno on either The Tonight Show with Jay Leno or his short lived The Jay Leno Show. Leno filled in for her on "The Today Show" that same day. CNN and the ''New York Daily News'' noted that instead of using Jay Leno's regular solid desk, "workers cut away the front of her desk to expose her legs while she interviewed ''American Idol'' judge Simon Cowell and ''Austin Powers'' star Mike Myers".

Other work

In a media crossover to animated film, she was the voice of news-reporter "Katie Current" in the U.S. version of the film ''Shark Tale''. She also made a cameo appearance as a prison guard at Georgia State Prison in ''Austin Powers in Goldmember''. She guest-starred as herself on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' in 1992 and in the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'' in late 2002. On May 12, 2003, she traded places for a day with ''Tonight Show'' host Jay Leno. Couric also co-hosted NBC's live coverage of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1991 until 2005. Katie Couric delivered the graduation speech at Princeton University on June 1, 2009. She also works with Carmen Marc Valvo to help publicize the deadliness, yet preventability, of colorectal cancer. On May 16, 2010, Katie Couric received an honorary doctor of science degree for her efforts in raising awareness of colorectal cancer and for her commitment to advancing medical research from Case Western Reserve University, and later gave the university's 2010 convocation keynote address. In 2011, she gave the university commencement speech at Boston University and was awarded another doctoral degree, Doctor of Humane Letters. She gave her speech amongst much fan-fare from the BU community, and her speech was not only touching but also inspirational and funny. She has also hosted a Sesame Street special, "When Families Grieve." The special, which aired on PBS on April 14, 2010, dealt with the issues that children go through when a parent dies. On February 6, 2011, Couric guest-starred on the post-Super Bowl episode of ''Glee'', playing herself interviewing Sue Sylvester after the cheer-leading team lost the championship. Sue sarcastically referred to Couric as "Diane Sawyer" during the segment.

On April 12, 2011, Couric's first book titled ''The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives'' was published by Random House. The book is a collection of essays compiled over the past year by Couric; contributors include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Queen Rania of Jordan, and former Today show colleague Matt Lauer. In an interview with The New York Times, Couric said that a 2010 convocation keynote address she gave (refer to preceding paragraph) inspired her to come up with the book. To this end, all profits of the book will be donated to Scholarship America.

Couric is also heavily featured in The Gregory Brothers' series ''Auto-Tune The News''. They mention this is due to her "outstanding" suitability for auto-tuning.

She is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Personal life

Couric married Jay Monahan in 1989. She gave birth to her first daughter, Elinor Tully "Ellie" Monahan, on July 23, 1991; her second daughter, Caroline "Carrie" Couric Monahan, was born on January 5, 1996. Jay Monahan died of colon cancer in 1998 at the age of 42; as a result, Couric is a spokeswoman for colon cancer awareness. She underwent a colonoscopy on-air in March 2000, and, according to a study published by Archives of Internal Medicine (July 14, 2003), inspired many others to get checked as well:

Katie Couric's televised colon cancer awareness campaign was temporarily associated with an increase in colonoscopy use in 2 different data sets. This illustrates the possibility that a well-known individual can draw attention and support to worthwhile causes.

She also was very active in the National Hockey League's Hockey Fights Cancer campaign, appearing in some public service announcements and doing voice-overs for several others. Couric is currently a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States.

On October 7, 2005, Couric broadcast her own mammogram on the ''Today'' show, in the hopes of recreating the "Couric Effect" around the issue of breast cancer. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Her sister Emily Couric, a Virginia Democratic state senator, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 54 on October 18, 2001. Couric gave a eulogy at the funeral. She pointed out that it irritated Emily when people asked her if she was Katie Couric's sister. She told the mourners "I just want you to know I will always be proud to say 'I am Emily Couric's sister'." Couric has two other siblings, Clara Couric Bachelor and John M. Couric Jr.

Couric was the honored guest at the 2004 Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation fall gala. As the Guest of Honor for the inaugural American Cancer Society Discovery Ball, Couric was recognized for her leadership in increasing cancer awareness and screening.

In 2011, Couric became the Honorary National Chair of the National Parkinson Foundation's Moving Day campaign, a grassroots campaign to spotlight Parkinson's disease awareness on a national level. Couric's father died in 2011 at age 90 from complications due to Parkinson's disease.

Sources

\ NBC News 4/26/11

References

External links

Katie Couric's ''Huffington Post'' Blog Page

Katie Couric at FameGame.com

Katie Couric Debuts On CBS

Katie Couric's CBS News Bio

Katie Couric on The Colbert Report from March 22, 2007

When Families Grieve ''Sesame Street'' special hosted by Katie Couric

Membership Roster at the Council on Foreign Relations

Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:People from Arlington County, Virginia Category:American Presbyterians Category:American television news anchors Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Peabody Award winners Category:University of Virginia alumni Category:Yorktown High School (Virginia) alumni Category:60 Minutes correspondents Category:NBC News Category:American television reporters and correspondents Category:American women journalists Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of German-Jewish descent

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