Hoda Kotb has enjoyed a lengthy tenure in one of NBC’s most high-profile roles — co-host of its popular TODAY show. During her time on the show, alongside (at separate times) Kathie Lee Gifford, Jenna Bush Hager, and Savannah Guthrie, she’s adopted two children, become engaged and then split from co-parent Joel Schiffman, and made herself a household name.
Read on for more info on how long Kotb helmed the show, and more.
Kotb described experiencing a shift in perspective after turning 60 in August of 2024. She made the announcement that she’d be leaving in September. According to TODAY, she knew it was time to devote more energy to raising her daughters, Haley and Hope, and her mother Sameha Kotb. “My broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie,” she said in a parting letter on the Today site. “I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited.”
Per NPR, Hoda Kotb had been co-hosting the TODAY show on NBC for 17 years before her last day on January 10, 2025. She’d been with the network for 26 years. According to the news outlet, she was working as a correspondent for NBC News and Dateline NBC before taking over as a fourth hour host. Over the years, she’s been joined by a handful of high-profile co-hosts, including Kathie Lee Gifford, Savannah Guthrie, and Jenna Bush Hager.
According to a January appearance on Kelly Clarkson ‘s eponymous talk show, Kotb will be overseeing a wellness app and company. “I am starting a wellness app and company that will involve retreats and a podcast and all kinds of things that we can get together, do things that I love,” she told Clarkson. “It’s not like going to Mexico with your girls, which is fun, but this is something that when you leave, you’ll go like, ‘Oh my gosh. I feel transformed. I feel different.’”
Per the New York Post, journalist Craig Melvin will be taking over for Kotb on TODAY. There will be a rotating panel of co-hosts filling in on Today With Hoda & Jenna until a final casting decision has been made.
