Hoda Kotb is a woman who knows how to have fun. She laughs easily, often to the point of tears. But that playfulness is balanced by wisdom born of a decades-long career in broadcast journalism. It was with that thoughtfulness that she announced her upcoming departure from NBC’s signature morning show, “Today.”
“It was time for me to turn the page at 60 and try something new,” Ms. Kotb said through tears on Thursday morning. “This is the top of the wave for me. This is the right time for me to move on.”
Here are five memorable moments from her years of being the familiar face, and soothing voice, that millions of people started the day with.
Her Love of Wine
Ms. Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford’s giant glasses of early-morning wine were the stuff of legend during their time together on “Today.” “We started pouring wine on that show and the suits had no clue,” Ms. Kotb explained during a segment on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” about the origins of their “Winesday” mornings. Mr. Meyers later staged an “intervention” for the morning show hosts.
Her Music Fandom
Ms. Kotb loves music, especially country, and especially Blake Shelton. They have hosted “Today” together twice, once from his Nashville bar in 2018 and again when he was a surprise co-host in 2021. “Today is my favorite day ever,” she gushed.
Her Breast-Cancer Advocacy Work
Ms. Kotb was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, and has been a fierce advocate for early detection and treatment access ever since. “The world snaps into focus,” she said of her cancer diagnosis. “I cleared away stuff I didn’t want anymore and held tightly to stuff I did.”
Her Daughters
Ms. Kotb adopted a daughter, Haley Joy, in 2017 at age 52. The announcement, which shocked some of her co-hosts like Al Roker, had the whole team in tears. She then adopted a second child, Hope, in 2019; on Thursday, she cited wanting to spend more time with the girls, now ages 7 and 5, as one of the reasons for her departure. “Family to me is everything,” she told People magazine in 2022. “It’s something I thought I would not have of my own. It still surprises and delights me and fills me to the top.”
Her Friendships
Ms. Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager have a very sweet relationship, and have often said they have the best team around them. “No matter where you work, try to find a good friend because it makes life so joyful,” Ms. Hager said to Ms. Kotb last year. “Especially when the friend is like you.”
For Ms. Kotb’s 60th birthday, Ms. Hager’s father, former President George W. Bush, painted a portrait of Ms. Kotb and her children.
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