Meredith Vieira
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Born: | December 30, 1953 (age 53) East Providence, Rhode Island, United States |
|---|---|
| Occupation: | Today co-anchor and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host |
| Salary: | $10 million/year (Today co-host salary) |
Meredith Vieira (born December 30, 1953) is an Emmy Award-winning American television personality, journalist and game show host. She currently co-hosts NBC's Today and is the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in syndication. She previously co-hosted ABC's daytime talk show The View and was the host of Intimate Portrait, a series on Lifetime Television.
Contents |
[edit] Education and early career
Vieira was born in East Providence, Rhode Island to Portuguese American parents Mary Elsie Rosa and Edwin Vieira, MD. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in English from Tufts University and began her career in 1975 as a news announcer for WORC radio in Worcester, Massachusetts. She began a career in television working as a local reporter and anchor at WJAR-TV Providence, eventually making her way into the newsroom at WCBS-TV in New York City.
Vieira first gained national recognition as a CBS reporter based in the Chicago Bureau from 1982–1984. She later became a correspondent for nationwide news-magazine shows including West 57th (1985–1989) and 60 Minutes (1989–1991). Her final assignment at CBS was as co-anchor of the CBS Morning News (1992–1993). She moved to ABC initially as a correspondent for the news-magazine show Turning Point (1993–1997). Following the cancellation of Turning Point Vieira realized:
| “ | ...I was a reporter who didn't want to report because it required a tremendous amount of travel, nobody was too interested in having me work for them. I had to reinvent myself. | ” |
Viera won seven Emmy Awards for her work on West 57th, 60 Minutes, Turning Point and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and was nominated several times for The View.
[edit] The View years
Vieira served as the moderator and co-host of ABC's The View from its debut in 1997 until announcing her departure in the spring of 2006. As moderator, she introduced "Hot Topics," guided conversations, and broke to commercials. She began each live episode saying "Hello! And welcome to The View," and signed off episodes (on which Barbara Walters did not appear) by saying "Take a little time and enjoy the view!" Vieira was widely regarded as liberal and outspoken on most topics, including those more controversial such as politics and her sex life. Vieira's final appearance on The View was June 9, 2006. Her co-hosts gave her a roast to commemorate her final appearance.
In August 2006, Vieira told Time that she hasn't watched The View since she left the show, except the episode when Star Jones announced she was leaving. She said it was "very sad" what's happened to it: "I'm proud of the work we did there, but it's not a good time in the history of the show," says Meredith. "It's hard to watch. It sort of became a joke."[1] On August 29, 2006, Vieira told the New York Post that she didn't mean that The View was a joke. She said the interview was taken out of context. "I felt that the media was turning [The View] into a joke, not that the show was a joke," she says. Time added a clarification to its website, saying "[Vieira] assures Time that in no way were her comments meant to be insensitive or derogatory..."[2]
In 1999, Vieira began hosting Lifetime's Intimate Portrait, which chronicles the lives of women in art, entertainment, politics, business, science, journalism, and sports.
Vieira has hosted the American syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire since 2002—a spin-off of the primetime show hosted by Regis Philbin. The daytime quiz show is syndicated by Buena Vista Television, a division of ABC. In 2005, Vieira won a Daytime Emmy Award as Outstanding Game Show Host for her role on Millionaire. Vieira was a celebrity guest on the Regis Philbin-hosted version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire before she hosted the syndicated version.[citation needed]
[edit] Today
After Katie Couric announced on April 5, 2006, that she would be stepping down as co-anchor of Today on May 31, 2006, Vieira accepted an offer on April 6, 2006, to succeed Couric beginning September 13, 2006.[3][4] The following day, Vieira announced on The View that she would be leaving the show.
It was confirmed on April 10, 2006, that she would continue her hosting duties of Millionaire for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 season, should the show be renewed. As part of her contract with Millionaire, Vieira agreed not to appear on any competing television networks during hours that would conflict with the airing of the game show. In effect, Vieira is forbidden from appearing on-camera for the third hour of Today until her contract with Millionaire expires.
On Today on December 11, 2006, Vieira commented that she had recently been absent in order to finish her Who Wants to be a Millionaire job. She made the announcement by saying "Now I've just got one job" to her co-host Matt Lauer.
[edit] Balancing family and career
Vieira joined 60 Minutes in 1989 following the birth of her first child. Don Hewitt, executive producer of 60 Minutes, allowed her to work part-time for two seasons so she could care for her child. After that, she would work full-time. But after two years, she became pregnant again and asked to continue the part-time arrangement. Hewitt declined her request, deciding instead to hire someone who would work full-time. Her departure from the show garnered headlines, as a national debate started to take place about whether women could balance both family and career. She also turned down opportunities to co-host The Early Show on CBS, and ABC's Good Morning America.[5] when her children were small.
Vieira talks about her family and career decisions in the book Divided Lives: The Public and Private Struggles of Three American Women by Elsa Walsh.[6]
[edit] Other appearances
- Vieira "hosts" a spoof of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, called Who Wants to Be King of the Jungle? on the 2nd disc of the Special Edition DVD of The Lion King 1 1/2. Timon the Meerkat serves as the contestant; Pumbaa as an audience member and the "Phone an Animal" lifeline.
- Vieira is a former spokesperson for Bayer, serving as an on-air personality in their commercials.
- Vieira also hosts a series of featurettes that are included on the DVDs of the ABC television show Desperate Housewives. Vieira interviews cast members and the show's creators in California. Vieira was required to sign a secrecy agreement in order to allow her access to script secrets.
[edit] Family
Vieira's parents are Mary Elsie Vieira and Edwin Vieira. Vieira married journalist and Columbia University journalism professor Richard Cohen on 14 July 1986. They reside with their three children in Irvington, Westchester County. New York. Cohen has had multiple sclerosis since he was 25 years old, and was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Meredith Calls "The View" A "Joke" (html). TMZ.com (2006). Retrieved on August 28, 2006.
- ^ Meredith: "View" Not A Joke, Actually (html). TMZ.com (2006). Retrieved on August 29, 2006.
- ^ Vieira chosen as Couric's 'Today' Successor (html). MSNBC.com (2006). Retrieved on June 9, 2006.
- ^ NBC Preps for Vieira Announcement (html). IMDB.com (2006). Retrieved on June 9, 2006.
- ^ Vieira Makes ABC Her Final Answer (html). eonline.com (2002). Retrieved on April 24, 2002.
- ^ Meredith Vieira: Her Morning Shift (html). New York Times (2006). Retrieved on August 15, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Meredith & Richard Interview with ABC7Chicago
- Meredith Vieira profile at NNDB
- Meredith Vieira at the Internet Movie Database
- Meredith Vieira at TV.com
- Meredith Vieira uncensored: getting ready for her new assignment on the Today show, Meredith Vieira shares her private side Interview/Biography from Good Houskeeping Magazine September 1, 2006
- Meredith Today Meredith Vieira's official blog at iVillage.com
| Preceded by Katie Couric |
Today Show Co-Anchor with Matt Lauer September 13, 2006–present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
| Co-Hosts of The View |
|---|
| Walters • Vieira • Jones Reynolds • Behar • Matenopoulos • Ling • Hasselbeck • O'Donnell |
| Anchors of NBC Today |
|---|
| Garroway • Chancellor • Downs • McGee • Walters • Hartz • Brokaw • Pauley • Gumbel • Norville • Garagiola • Couric • Lauer • Vieira |
| 60 Minutes Correspondents |
|---|
| Christiane Amanpour • Ed Bradley • Anderson Cooper • Katie Couric • Steve Kroft • Lara Logan • Scott Pelley • Dan Rather • Harry Reasoner • Morley Safer • Diane Sawyer • Bob Simon • Lesley Stahl • Meredith Vieira • Mike Wallace |
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1951 births | American game show hosts | American television journalists | American television talk show hosts | American television personalities | Daytime Emmy Award winners | Living people | People from Providence, Rhode Island | Portuguese-Americans | Tufts University alumni | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
