Deborah Norville facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Deborah Norville
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Norville in 2011
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| Born |
Deborah Anne Norville
August 8, 1958 Dalton, Georgia, U.S.
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| Education | University of Georgia (BA) |
| Occupation | Television journalist |
| Years active | 1979–present |
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Notable credit(s)
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Inside Edition CBS News Today NBC News at Sunrise Deborah Norville Yarn |
| Spouse(s) |
Karl Gert Wellner
(m. 1987) |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | 2024 Edward F. McLaughlin Lifetime Achievement Award |
Deborah Anne Norville (born August 8, 1958) is a well-known American television journalist and businesswoman. She was the anchor of Inside Edition, a popular TV news show, from March 1995 until May 2025. She also has her own line of yarns called Deborah Norville Collection for people who love to knit and crochet. Before Inside Edition, she worked as a reporter and anchor for CBS News and was a co-host of the Today show on NBC. Her book Thank You Power was a best-seller.
Contents
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Deborah Norville was born in Dalton, Georgia. When she was in high school, she won her town's Junior Miss contest. She then represented Georgia in the 1976 America's Junior Miss pageant. Even though she didn't win, seeing how the CBS TV team worked behind the scenes inspired her. This experience made her decide to become a TV journalist instead of a lawyer. She even hosted the America's Junior Miss contest herself in 1999.
College and First TV Jobs
Norville went to the University of Georgia. She finished her journalism degree in just three years with perfect grades. She was a top student and was invited to join the special academic honor society, Phi Beta Kappa.
While still in college, Deborah started her TV career. She had an internship with Georgia Public Television, working on a show called The Lawmakers. An executive from WAGA-TV in Atlanta noticed her and offered her a summer internship. One day, they needed a reporter, and Deborah got to cover a news story. She reported on the six o'clock news that evening and was later offered a weekend reporting job. She had to drive 60 miles between school and work, sometimes even sleeping in her car! In January 1979, she even interviewed President Jimmy Carter live on TV.
After graduating, Norville became a full-time reporter at WAGA-TV. In 1982, she moved to Chicago to work for WMAQ-TV, an NBC station. She became a reporter and then an anchor there. When she announced she was joining NBC News in New York in 1986, the Mayor of Chicago, Harold Washington, declared "Deborah Norville Week" in her honor.
Working at NBC News
Deborah Norville joined NBC News in January 1987. She became the anchor of NBC News at Sunrise, making her the only solo female anchor of a network newscast at the time. The show's ratings went up by 40 percent after she joined. This led to her filling in sometimes on the Today Show and "Sunday Today." In August 1989, she hosted a documentary called Bad Girls about teenage girls. It was one of the most-watched shows that week.
In September 1989, Norville became the news anchor on Today. Soon after, the show's co-host, Jane Pauley, decided to leave. Deborah Norville then became the co-host of Today in January 1990. During her time on Today, she won an Emmy award for her reporting on the democratic uprising in Romania. After she had her first child, she took maternity leave and did not return to the program. Katie Couric then took her place on Today.
Radio and Return to TV
In May 1991, Deborah Norville hosted a radio show called The Deborah Norville Show: From Her Home to Yours. It featured interviews and calls from listeners. The show ran until October 1992, when she decided to go back to television.
Norville returned to TV in October 1992, joining CBS News as a correspondent. She reported for shows like Street Stories and 48 Hours. She won her second Emmy award for her coverage of the Mississippi floods in 1994. She also worked on the CBS Evening News and co-anchored America Tonight.
In 1995, Norville became the anchor of Inside Edition. In March 2015, the show celebrated her 20th anniversary, noting that she had become the longest-serving female anchor on national television. Some of her notable reports included visiting a tough jail in North Carolina and interviewing Paula Jones about a serious accusation against then-President Bill Clinton. She also did a series of "jobs," including writing and performing a song called "Keep On Movin." She said that the strength she gained from doing something she never thought she could do stayed with her.
In 2003, Deborah Norville hosted a prime-time show on MSNBC called Deborah Norville Tonight. She left that show in 2005 because it was hard to balance her work on Inside Edition, her MSNBC duties, and her family life.
In 2015, she became the host of Knit and Crochet Now!, a craft show on public television. On May 21, 2025, Norville hosted her final episode of Inside Edition, after 30 years with the program.
Writing and Books
Besides her TV career, Deborah Norville has also written many books. She was an editor for Inside Sports and McCall's magazines. Her book Thank You Power: Making the Science of Gratitude Work for You (2007) became a New York Times best-seller. It talks about the benefits of being grateful. Before that, she wrote Back on Track: How To Straighten Out Your Life When It Throws You a Curve (1997), which shared lessons from her time on the Today Show.
Her book The Power of Respect: Benefit from the Most Forgotten Element of Success (2009) explains how respect is important in business, at home, and in your personal life. She also wrote The Way We Are: Heroes, Scoundrels, and Oddballs from 25 Years of Inside Edition (2013), which tells the story of Inside Edition over 25 years.
Additionally, she has written several books about knitting and crocheting, like Knit With Deborah Norville—18 Classic Designs For The Whole Family (2009). She has also written two children's books, I Don't Want to Sleep Tonight (1999) and I Can Fly (2001). She has also contributed to the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul book series.
Other Activities
In 2008, Norville started appearing in commercials. She also launched her own line of knit and crochet yarns called the Deborah Norville Collection. She partnered with Premier Yarns, a company that makes yarn. She introduced her yarn line at a big craft industry event in 2009. Her yarns and other knitting and crocheting items are sold in craft stores and online.
Personal Life
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Deborah Norville married Swedish businessman Karl Wellner in 1987. They have three children together.
In April 2019, Norville shared that she would have surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid nodule. The lump on her neck was first noticed by a viewer who watched her show.
See also
- New Yorkers in journalism
- Lisa Guerrero
