Hoda Kotb: Some Interesting Facts About the New Co-anchor of NBC’s ‘Today’ Show

Hoda Kotb joins Savannah Guthrie as anchor of NBC’s Today morning news show. Kotb’s appointment as permanent co-anchor of the Today show was made official on January 2, 2017. The position was left vacant after Matt Lauer’s dismissal by NBC for alleged sexual harassment.

Kotb had been filling in for Lauer on a temporary basis after he was fired in November 2017. News of her appointment was reportedly shared in a staff memo on Monday, January 1 and her new position was announced on the show on Tuesday, January 2,

Guthrie, in her excitement, said,”This has to be the most popular decision that NBC News has ever made.”

Hoda Kotb is of Egyptian ancestry, and she was born August 9, 1964, in Norman, Oklahoma. She lived in Egypt for a year and also lived in Nigeria. She was raised in Morgantown, West Virginia and Alexandria, Virginia with her Egyptian parents. Kotb also live in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 90’s.

Kotb attended Fort Hunt High School from where she graduated in 1982. She was the speaker at her graduating class’ Baccalaureate service and elected homecoming queen. She was an active member of Delta Delta Delta women’s sorority, Beta Nu Chapter, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism in 1986. She was the keynote speaker at the Virginia Tech graduation in 2008.

Hoda Kotb was a reporter for WWL-TV in New Orleans, Lousiana from 1992 to 1998. She has been a correspondent for Dateline NBC since 1998 and was the co-host on the fourth hour of the Today show with Kathie Lee Gifford. Kotb was added as a third co-anchor of Today show.

She is also a successful author with a New York Times Bestseller, Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee, which was released in October 2010. In addition to her accomplishments in 2010, she won the Daytime Emmy Award as part of the Today show. Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie are the first female duo to anchor the Today show.

Join us as we continue celebrating #SavannahHodaTODAY! pic.twitter.com/Rk9NlzJv2d

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 2, 2018

After Kotb was diagnosed with cancer, she underwent a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery for breast cancer and was declared cancer-free. Her struggle with cancer was documented by the Today show, and she is an advocate for breast cancer awareness. Kotb has inspired many American women, and her appointment is symbolic because of what she represents.