Savannah Clark Guthrie (born December 27, 1971)[1] is an Australian-born American broadcast journalist and former attorney. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC Newsmorning showToday, a position she has held since July 2012.[2][3]
Guthrie joined NBC News in September 2007 as a legal analyst and correspondent, regularly reporting on trials throughout the country. After serving as a White House correspondent between 2008 and 2011 and as co-anchor of the MSNBC program The Daily Rundown in 2010 and 2011,[4] Guthrie was announced as the co-host of Today's third hour alongside Natalie Morales[5] and Al Roker.[6] In that role, she substituted as news anchor and main co-host and appeared as the chief legal analyst across all NBC platforms.[7] Guthrie ceased to be the third-hour co-host and chief legal analyst in 2012 when she replaced Ann Curry as co-anchor of Today.
Early life and education
Savannah Clark Guthrie, named for her great-grandmother,[8] was born in Melbourne, Australia, where her father was stationed for work. Her family returned to the United States and moved to Tucson, Arizona, two years later.[8] The first time Guthrie returned to Australia was in 2015 while working for Today, which she described as a "lifelong dream" of hers.[9]
Guthrie's first job in broadcasting was at KTVM, the NBC affiliate in Butte, Montana; she started in October 1993, but on her 10th day at the station, the local news operation was closed.[14][15][16] She then went to work at ABC affiliate KMIZ in Columbia, Missouri, where she worked for two years before returning to Tucson and a job with NBC affiliate KVOA in 1995. After five years in Arizona, she took a job at WRC-TV, Washington, D.C. where she covered major stories, including the September 11 attack on The Pentagon and the 2001 anthrax attacks.[8]
After working several years as a broadcast journalist, Guthrie chose to resume her higher education, receiving a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, where she graduated magna cum laude in 2002. She is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and Arizona, having scored first place on the Arizona Bar Exam. She also was a member of Order of the Coif and received the International Academy of Trial Lawyers' Student Advocacy award for her work with victims of domestic violence.
On October 14, 2020, Guthrie served as moderator for the town hall scheduled by President Trump after he caught COVID-19 and refused to participate in a virtual presidential debate that was postponed for safety reasons, when Joe Biden scheduled a solo town hall debate, Trump and NBC scheduled one at the same date and time as Biden's town hall.
The Today Show (2011–present)
Guthrie interviews Barack Obama in the White House kitchen for a Super Bowl XLIX pre-game showGuthrie interviews U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter in March 2015.
After Guthrie substituted for both Meredith Vieira and Ann Curry on Today, it was confirmed on May 9, 2011 that she would become co-host of the 9 a.m. hour alongside Natalie Morales and Al Roker, and the show's Chief Legal Editor. The move came after Vieira announced her departure from the show as co-host of the main program, and the subsequent promotions of Curry and Morales to main co-host and news anchor, respectively. Guthrie departed The Daily Rundown for Today on June 9, 2011,[19] at which time she was appointed NBC News chief legal analyst, making her first appearance in this role on May 25, 2011.[7] On June 29, 2012, it was announced that Guthrie would co-anchor Today, replacing Curry. Her first day as co-anchor alongside Matt Lauer was on July 9, 2012.[20]
In 2011, she conducted an interview with Donald Trump in which he discussed his role in the Barack Obama "birther" controversy.[21] Later that year, she interviewed Conrad Murray after he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson.[22] She reported exclusive details on the death of Osama bin Laden.[21] On November 29, 2017, Guthrie welcomed Hoda Kotb as cohost after Lauer’s longstanding practice of sexual assault & harassment of young female colleagues became public.[citation needed]
In 2020, she conducted another interview with then-President Donald Trump during his re-election campaign in the 2020 election amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Guthrie pressed him on issues of his debts, coronavirus response and refusal to outright condemn the right-wing conspiracy theory of QAnon.[25]
Guthrie was included in Time's list of 100 most influential people of 2018.[26]
In 2018, she played alongside compatriot Jack Sock in an exhibition tennis match against Swiss Roger Federer and American Bill Gates. Savannah and Jack suffered a loss, the final score being 3–6.[28]
Guthrie is the author of two children's books: Princesses Wear Pants and Princesses Save the World,[29] and one religious book, Mostly What God Does: Reflections on Seeking and Finding His Love Everywhere.[30]
In February 2021, Guthrie was announced to be an interim guest host of Jeopardy! following the death of host Alex Trebek. Her episodes aired June 14–25, 2021.[31]
Guthrie along with Hoda Kotb both appeared on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Personal life
Marriages and family
In December 2005, Guthrie married English-born BBC News presenter Mark Orchard, whom she met while covering the trial of Michael Jackson. The couple divorced in 2009.
In late 2009, she began a relationship with Democratic political and communications consultant Michael Feldman[8] while vacationing in the Turks and Caicos Islands. In 2013, they became engaged. They married on March 15, 2014, in Tucson, Arizona. Two days later, Guthrie announced she was four months pregnant.[32]
Guthrie gave birth to their first child in 2014.[33] On June 7, 2016, Guthrie announced she and her husband were expecting their second child.[34] She gave birth to their second child in 2016.[35]
Health
Guthrie contracted COVID-19 three times. On January 10, 2022, it was announced that Guthrie had tested positive for COVID-19 Deltacron hybrid variant for a first time, stating on the air that she had "little sniffs and not much more than that." Guthrie's diagnosis came one week after her Today co-host Hoda Kotb also tested positive for the hybrid variant as well.[36] On May 6, 2022, she tested positive for COVID-19 Omicron variant, saying "I feel great. Honestly, I'm going to be back tomorrow. I just had a little cold, so I was really lucky with it." during a video call on May 10 on Today.[37] On February 28, 2023, Guthrie tested positive for COVID-19 Omicron variant again, leaving the show around 7:30 a.m. after she wasn't feeling great and taking a test.[38]
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