Katie Couric

Born Katherine Anne Couric in Arlington, Virginia, Couric graduated from the University of Virginia in 1979 with a degree in American Studies. She began her broadcasting career as a desk assistant at ABC News and later worked as an assignment editor and on-air reporter for CNN.

Couric reported for WTVJ in Miami and WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., where her work earned an Associated Press Award and an Emmy. In 1989, she joined NBC News as a deputy Pentagon correspondent and covered the U.S. invasion of Panama and the Persian Gulf War.

Couric became a substitute co-anchor of NBC's Today in 1991 while Deborah Norville was on maternity leave. She became the permanent co-anchor later that year and remained with the program for 15 years. Her accessible on-screen manner and wide-ranging interviews helped Today regain its position as the most-watched morning news program in the United States.

During her NBC years, Couric also contributed to Dateline NBC, co-hosted the newsmagazine Now with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric, and presented the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for 14 years. She interviewed political figures and public personalities including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Colin Powell, Jerry Seinfeld, and J.K. Rowling. Matt Lauer joined her as co-anchor of Today in 1997 after serving as the program's news anchor.

Couric's reporting on colon cancer, including an on-air colonoscopy, won a George Foster Peabody Award in 2001. Her work helped bring national attention to colorectal cancer screening and became associated with the phrase "Katie Couric effect."

In 2006, Couric left NBC to become anchor and managing editor of CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. She was the first woman to solo anchor a major U.S. network evening newscast. Her debut drew nearly 13.6 million viewers, about twice the program's usual audience, but the newscast later struggled to meet the network's ratings expectations.

Couric also became a correspondent for 60 Minutes and anchored CBS prime-time news specials. Her coverage included the 2006 midterm elections, the 2008 presidential election, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the BP oil spill, the Egyptian Revolution, and the 2011 royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

The CBS Evening News won Edward R. Murrow Awards for best newscast in 2008 and 2009. Couric left the anchor position in May 2011, seeking to pursue more multidimensional storytelling.

Couric became a special correspondent for ABC News after leaving CBS. She contributed to programs including 20/20 and Nightline, co-anchored coverage of the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and created the year-end special The Year with Katie Couric.

Her nationally syndicated daytime talk show, Katie, premiered in September 2012. The program had a strong debut but was canceled after its second season, with its final episode airing in 2014. Couric then joined Yahoo! News as global news anchor, conducting interviews and reporting on live events until leaving the post in 2017.

Couric founded Katie Couric Media in 2017. The company has developed the newsletter Wake Up Call, the podcast Next Question with Katie Couric, digital video projects, and documentaries. Her documentary and production work has included Fed Up, Under the Gun, Gender Revolution, America Inside Out with Katie Couric, Flint, and Netflix's Unbelievable.

Couric is the author of the children's books The Brand New Kid and The Blue Ribbon Day, the essay collection The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives, and the memoir Going There. The Brand New Kid reached the top of The New York Times children's picture-book bestseller list, while The Best Advice I Ever Got became a bestseller.

Her screen work includes a voice performance as Katie Current in the animated film Shark Tale and appearances as herself or in cameo roles in Austin Powers in Goldmember, Will & Grace, Glee, Sully, Zoolander 2, and The Boys. In 2021, she became the first woman to guest host the flagship U.S. version of Jeopardy!.

Couric was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2004. Her honors also include a Peabody Award, two Edward R. Murrow Awards, a Walter Cronkite Award, a duPont-Columbia Award, and multiple Emmy Awards.

Couric was married to attorney Jay Monahan from 1989 until his death from colon cancer in 1998. They had two daughters. She married financier John Molner in 2014, and the couple appeared together in the online cooking series Full Plate with Katie & John.

Couric became a prominent advocate for cancer awareness after Monahan's death. She has promoted colorectal cancer screening, breast cancer awareness, and cancer research, and in 2008 she co-founded Stand Up To Cancer. In 2023, she and Jean Trebek launched the Alex Trebek Fund in partnership with Stand Up To Cancer to support pancreatic cancer research.

Couric revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer after a routine screening in June 2022. She underwent surgery in July and began radiation treatment in September.