Lara Spencer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lara Spencer
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Spencer in 2014
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| Born |
Lara Christine Von Seelen
June 19, 1969 Garden City, New York, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Pennsylvania State University |
| Occupation | Television host, television producer |
| Spouse(s) |
David Haffenreffer
(m. 2000; div. 2015)Richard McVey
(m. 2018) |
| Children | 2 |
Lara Spencer (born Lara Christine Von Seelen on June 19, 1969) is a well-known American television journalist. She is most famous for being a co-anchor on ABC's Good Morning America. She also works as a correspondent for Nightline and ABC News.
Before joining Good Morning America, Lara hosted The Insider from 2004 to 2011. She was also a regular guest on CBS's The Early Show. For several years, she worked as a lifestyle reporter for WABC-TV. She hosted Antiques Roadshow on PBS in 2004 and 2005. Lara also hosts Flea Market Flip on HGTV and the Great American Country channel. In 2018, she decided to appear on Good Morning America three days a week. This allowed her to focus more on producing television shows.
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Early Life and Education
Lara Spencer grew up in Garden City, Long Island, near New York City. Her parents are Richard Ernest and Carolyn von Seelen. She finished Garden City High School in 1987.
She went to Pennsylvania State University on a sports scholarship. She was a competitive diver, specializing in springboard and platform diving. In 1991, her final year, she was named an All-American Athlete. She earned a degree in broadcast journalism.
Starting Her Career
After college, Lara joined the NBC page program. She volunteered to work with reporters to gain experience. Later, she got a job at WDEF-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee. There, she worked as a multimedia journalist, filming and producing her own stories.
A year later, she moved to News 12 Long Island. Two years after that, she began anchoring overnight news updates for WABC-TV. Her reporting on the TWA Flight 800 crash caught the attention of national news executives. In 1999, she joined ABC's Good Morning America as a national correspondent.
Personal Life
Lara Spencer married David Haffenreffer, a former journalist, on September 30, 2000. They lived in Greenwich, Connecticut. The couple divorced in June 2015.
In January 2018, Lara announced her engagement to Richard McVey. He is a tech entrepreneur from New York. They met through a mutual friend. Lara Spencer and Richard McVey got married on September 1, 2018, in Vail, Colorado.
Other Projects
In 2014, Lara Spencer was honored as the grand marshal at Penn State's homecoming event. In 2017, she hosted a short TV series called People Icons. In 2019, she was a guest picker on College GameDay for a big college football game.
Television Producer
Lara Spencer has also worked behind the scenes as a producer. She created and was an executive producer for the game show It's Worth What?. This show aired on NBC in the summer of 2011.
She also created and produced two TV shows based on her love for interior design. One was a special called I Brake for Yard Sales, which aired on HGTV in 2012. The other is a series about flea markets called Flea Market Flip, which airs on Great American Country.
Books and Hosting Events
Lara Spencer has written two books. Her first book, I Brake for Yard Sales, came out in April 2012. It is a guide on how to make rooms look fancy using items found at secondhand sales.
She also co-hosted the 87th Miss America pageant with Chris Harrison on September 15, 2013. They hosted the Miss America 2015 pageant together again on September 14, 2014.
Her second book, Flea Market Fabulous: Designing Gorgeous Rooms with Vintage Treasures, was published on September 16, 2014. This book helps people learn how to design rooms and homes using vintage items.
