NBC made the big announcement — Hoda Kotb is the new permanent co-host of The Today Show. Paired up with current host Savannah Guthrie, it’s the first time in the show’s 66-year history with two women hosts.
Making Her Impact on The Today Show
Hoda Kotb came onboard the hugely popular morning show in November, stepping in as an interim replacement for Matt Lauer, who was fired for egregious sexual misconduct. Since then, its ratings have moved only one direction, north, largely attributed to the fresh energy Kotb has injected into the show.
Emboldened and toughened over the years through personal and professional battle scars, Kotb eventually rose to the top position on Today. The Today Show has started to overtake its rival ABC’s Good Morning America, a program it has trailed for years.
Overcoming Life’s Challenges
The success of 54-year old Kotb is well-earned. She has persevered and strived throughout her career to achieve outsized success.
Born to Egyptian parents in 1964, she neither looked black nor white, which made it difficult for her to fit in. Kotb, to her credit, never used her ethnicity as a crutch. She fervently believed in her abilities and never let judgement of others determine her self-worth.
Facing Innumerable Rejections
In 1986, when she had freshly graduated with a degree in journalism from Virginia Tech and was seeking to land her first job, Kotb was repeatedly rejected, not once, not twice but 27 times all within a matter of 10 days — enough to break the most indomitable spirits. Enervated yet undefeated, on her drive back home, she tried her luck one more time at an obscure backwoods station in Greenville, Mississippi, where the news director gave her a chance, albeit at a humble salary of $12,000. She eventually transitioned to NBC where she covered a number of important global events, including the 2004 tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.
Overcoming Cancer and Personal Issues
In 2007, Kotb faced her life’s greatest challenge. On top of her rocky marriage, Kotb was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy. She was mostly private about this part of her life until she met a stranger on a flight to Ireland. Ken Duane, the person sitting next to her on the flight, advised her to share her fight with cancer with the world to inspire others. Kotb took Ken’s advice and shared her story on the air. She was authentic, transparent, and vulnerable. The world fell in love with Kotb even more, helping her to gain unbreakable respect and following among global viewers who now saw Kotb as an inspirational figure.
Hoda Kotb has strived all her life and she has turned her greatest struggles into her greatest triumphs.
