Matt Lauer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Matt Lauer
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Lauer in 2014
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Matthew Todd Lauer
December 30, 1957 New York City, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Ohio University |
| Occupation | Former television journalist |
| Years active | 1979–2017 |
| Television | Today co-anchor (1997–2017) Today news anchor (1994–1997) |
| Spouse(s) |
Nancy Alspaugh
(m. 1982; div. 1989)Annette Roque
(m. 1998; div. 2019) |
| Children | 3 |
Matthew Todd Lauer (born December 30, 1957) is a former American television journalist. He is best known for his work with NBC News.
Lauer started as a local news reporter in New York City. His first big national job was as the news anchor for NBC's Today show from 1994 to 1997. In 1997, Lauer became a main host of Today, a role he held until 2017. He also often worked on the news show Dateline NBC. With NBC, Lauer hosted the yearly Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He also co-hosted the opening ceremonies for several Olympic Games.
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Early Life and Family Background
Lauer was born in New York City. His mother, Marilyn Lauer, owned a boutique. His father, Jay Robert Lauer, was an executive at a bicycle company.
Lauer's father had Romanian Jewish family roots. This was shown on the Today Show in a segment called Finding Our Roots.
Education and Early Career
Lauer earned his college degree from Ohio University in 1997. He had studied at the school's Scripps College of Communication. He first left college in 1979 to start his TV career. He was hired as a producer for a newscast at WOWK-TV in Huntington, West Virginia. By 1980, he was reporting on air for the station's evening news.
After that, Lauer worked in different cities on the East Coast. He hosted many daily information and talk shows. He was a co-host of PM Magazine in Richmond, Providence, and New York City.
In 1986, Lauer co-hosted a new show called Made in New York. He then got his first national TV job. He co-hosted Fame, Fortune and Romance for ABC. This show was a spin-off of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Lauer then went back to local TV. He hosted shows in Philadelphia and Boston from 1987 to 1989. During this time, he also reported for ESPN and HBO.
In 1989, Lauer returned to New York City. He hosted 9 Broadcast Plaza, a live interview show. He left the show because he disagreed with the types of guests and topics it started to feature.
In 1990, he hosted a pilot for a show called Day in Court. This program was later renamed Trial Watch and aired on NBC for two seasons.
Career at NBC News
Lauer joined NBC in 1992. He became a co-anchor for Today in New York on WNBC, the network's New York station. The next year, Lauer also became a co-anchor for Live at Five. He kept this role until 1996.
Lauer's presence on screen soon led to more chances with NBC News. He filled in as the newsreader on The Today Show from 1992 to 1993. This helped him join The Today Show full-time in January 1994 as a news anchor. He also continued to co-anchor Today in New York and Live at Five.
Lauer also filled in as co-host for Weekend Today and as anchor for NBC News at Sunrise. He even filled in for Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News. As the Today Show news anchor, Lauer also substituted for Bryant Gumbel. He officially became the co-anchor of Today on January 6, 1997, after Gumbel left. Besides his duties on The Today Show, Lauer also hosted shows on Discovery Channel and MSNBC.
Where in the World is Matt Lauer?
From 1998 to 2011, Lauer took part in a yearly adventure called Where in the World is Matt Lauer? on the Today Show. This segment was named after the PBS game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?. Lauer traveled to many places around the world. He reported on why each location was important. He broadcast from places like Bhutan, Easter Island, the Panama Canal, Iran, and the Great Wall of China.
Notable Interviews and Events
Lauer sometimes conducted interviews that became very intense. In June 2005, he had a strong discussion with Tom Cruise about certain health topics. Cruise later said he regretted the exchange.
On June 19, 2007, Lauer interviewed Prince William and Prince Harry. This interview marked ten years since their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, passed away.
Between 1998 and 2017, Lauer co-hosted NBC's live coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Lauer also co-hosted the opening ceremonies of several Olympic Games. He continued a tradition started by his former co-host Katie Couric. Lauer co-hosted the opening ceremonies for the 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 Olympic Games.
In April 2012, Lauer signed a new contract with NBC News. It was reported that this contract paid him a large amount of money each year.
During the 2014 Winter Olympics, Lauer filled in for prime-time host Bob Costas. Costas had to take time off due to an eye infection.
In November 2015, Lauer interviewed Charlie Sheen. During this interview, Sheen shared personal health information.
On September 8, 2016, Lauer interviewed presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Both interviews received a lot of discussion. Critics felt Lauer focused too much on some topics and not enough on others.
In November 2016, Lauer signed another new contract. On January 6, 2017, Lauer celebrated his 20th anniversary on The Today Show. The show looked back at some of his most memorable moments.
Other Work and Appearances
Lauer made a guest appearance as himself on a live episode of Will & Grace in early 2006.
In November 2006, Lauer and his daughter, Romy, hosted a Sesame Street DVD show. Lauer also hosted The Greatest American on the Discovery Channel. This show used online and phone votes to pick a winner. Lauer felt the show tended to favor famous people over others.
Lauer was the speaker for the 2009 Class Day at Harvard University's graduation ceremonies.
Lauer appeared as himself in the 2009 film Land of the Lost and the 2011 film The Beaver. He also voiced a reporter named Hark Hanson in the animated movie Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! Lauer also appeared in the 2011 films Drew Peterson: Untouchable and Tower Heist. Old footage of Lauer is shown in the 2015 film Straight Outta Compton and the 2017 films Lady Bird and I, Tonya. He also appeared as himself in the TV movies Sharknado 2: The Second One and Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
Career Timeline
- 1979–1980: News producer and reporter, WOWK-TV, Huntington, West Virginia
- 1980–1981: Co-host, PM Magazine, WXEX-TV, Richmond, Virginia
- 1981–1984: Co-host, PM Magazine, WJAR-TV, Providence, Rhode Island
- 1984–1986: Co-host, PM Magazine, WNEW-TV, New York City
- 1986: Co-host, Made in New York, WNYW, New York City
- 1986–1987: Co-host, Fame, Fortune and Romance, ABC
- 1987–1988: Host, Live on City Line, WCAU-TV, Philadelphia
- 1988–1989: Host, Talk of the Town, WNEV-TV, Boston
- 1989–1991: Co-host, 9 Broadcast Plaza, WWOR-TV, Secaucus, New Jersey
- 1992–1996: Various positions at WNBC-TV, New York City
- September 1992 – September 1994: Today in New York co-anchor
- August 1993 – September 1996: early evening newscast Live at Five co-anchor
- 1992–2017: Various positions at NBC News, New York City
- 1992–1997: fill-in anchor on Weekend Today and NBC News at Sunrise
- 1993–1994: Today fill-in news anchor
- June 13, 1994 – January 3, 1997: Today news anchor
- January 6, 1997 – November 28, 2017: Today co-anchor
- 1997–2017: Dateline NBC contributing anchor
- 1998–2016: Christmas in Rockefeller Center host
- 1998–2017: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade host
- 2011–2013: Rock Center with Brian Williams correspondent
Personal Life
Lauer is the grandson of singer Art Gentry. Lauer was married to television producer Nancy Alspaugh from 1982 to 1989. They did not have children. He later married Dutch model Annette Roque. They met in July 1997 and married on October 3, 1998. They have three children together.
Since 2017, Lauer has been living on his farm in New Zealand.
See also
In Spanish: Matt Lauer para niños
