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What Happened to Katie Couric? Find Out Where the Former ‘Today’ Host Is Now
In 1991, Katie Couric became an official cohost of Today, a position she held for 15 years before waving goodbye to the program. Her journalism career took her to several major cable news networks before starting her own media company. Find out what happened to the TV host and where she is now.
What Happened to Katie Couric?
Katie attended the University of Virginia and worked for WRC-TV before joining the team of anchors at NBC in 1989. After filling in for her colleagues on Today a number of times, she was promoted to official host of the talk show two years later. The reporter announced her departure from the program in April 2006.
“I wanted to tell all of you out there who have watched the show for the past 15 years that after listening to my heart and my gut — two things that have served me pretty well in the past — I’ve decided I’ll be leaving Today at the end of May,” she told viewers during an episode of the long-running show. “I really feel as if we’ve become friends through the years.”
After her time on Today, Katie became the first female to serve as a solo evening newscaster on network television when she joined CBS Evening News in 2006. She was also named managing editor of the broadcast. The 60 Minutes correspondent announced she was leaving the network after five years.
“I have decided to step down from the CBS Evening News,” she told People in April 2011. “I’m really proud of the talented team on the CBS Evening News and the award-winning work we’ve been able to do in the past five years in addition to the reporting I’ve done for 60 Minutes and CBS Sunday Morning. In making the decision to move on, I know the Evening News will be in great hands, but I am excited about the future.”
The TV personality returned to ABC following her departure from CBS. Katie filled in for Robin Roberts on several episodes of Good Morning America in 2012. She hosted her own talk show called Katie from 2012 to 2014. The Virginia native founded Katie Couric Media in 2017 with her husband, John Molner.
Where Is Katie Couric Now?
Since beginning her journalism career, Katie has authored multiple books, including 2021’s Going There. In the candid memoir, she reflected on the highs and lows of her media career.
“I couldn’t imagine writing something that wasn’t honest and radically transparent,” the news anchor shared about the writing process during an October 2021 interview on Today. “I didn’t want to do a victory lap or my greatest hits. I think I’ve had an extraordinary life. I’ve had incredible opportunities. … I’ve had huge successes. I’ve had some pretty public failures, too.”
Katie has also continued her advocacy for cancer screening after losing her first husband, Jay Monahan, to colon cancer in 1998 at age 42. The pair welcomed two daughters during their marriage, Elinor and Caroline. The mom of two wed her second husband, John, in 2014.
In September 2022, Katie revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2021 after getting her annual mammogram.
“The heart-stopping, suspended animation feeling I remember all too well came flooding back: Jay’s colon cancer diagnosis at 41 and the terrifying, gutting nine months that followed,” she wrote in a post on her website at the time. “My sister Emily’s pancreatic cancer, which would later kill her at 54, just as her political career was really taking off. My mother-in-law Carol’s ovarian cancer, which she was fighting as she buried her son, a year and nine months before she herself was laid to rest.”
The award-winning journalist underwent a lumpectomy after learning of her diagnosis and began radiation a few months later. She marked her final round of treatment on September 27, 2022. In December 2022, Katie gave fans an update on her health and condition.
“I’m doing great. I’m feeling great,” the talk show alum told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “I’m really lucky. Like one in three women, I was diagnosed with cancer. But, you know, I was very fortunate because early detection is everything and it was detected early. So, it’s not only treatable, it’s curable. And that’s why everyone needs to get screened.”
