MEREDITH VIEIRA

'Meredith Louise Vieira' (born December 30, 1953) is an Emmy Award-winning American journalist, television personality, and game show hostess. She currently co-hosts NBC's ''Today'' as well as continuing to host ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' in syndication. She previously co-hosted ABC's daytime talk show ''The View'' (from 1997 to 2006), She also hosted '' Intimate Portrait,'' a series on Lifetime Television.

Contents

Early life and career

''The View'' years (1997-2006)

''Today'' (2006-present)

Balancing family and career

Other appearances

Family

Footnotes

External links

Early life and career

Meredith Vieira was born in East Providence, Rhode Island to Mary Elsie Rosa Silveria Vieira (1914-2004) and Dr. Edwin Vieira (1904-1987), both first generation Portuguese-Americans. She is the youngest of four children, with three older brothers.^[1] Vieira attended the Lincoln School, a Quaker school in Providence. 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 their Chicago bureau from 1982 to 1984. She later became a correspondent for nationwide news-magazine shows including ''West 57th'' (1985–89) and ''60 Minutes'' (1989–91). Her final assignment at CBS was as co-anchor of the ''CBS Morning News'' (1992–93). She moved to ABC initially as a correspondent for the news-magazine show ''Turning Point'' (1993–97). 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..."

''The View'' years (1997-2006)

Vieira served as the moderator and co-host of ABC's ''The View'' from its debut in 1997 until 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!''" Vieira was widely regarded as liberal and outspoken on most topics, including controversial ones 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... It's hard to watch. It sort of became a joke."^[2] 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..."^[3]
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 contestant on the Regis Philbin-hosted version of ''Who Wants to be a Millionaire'' before she hosted the syndicated version.

''Today'' (2006-present)

The day after Katie Couric announced on April 5, 2006, that she would be stepping down as co-anchor of ''Today'', Vieira accepted an offer to succeed Couric beginning September 13, 2006.^[4][5] The following day, Vieira announced on ''The View'' that she would be leaving the show.
It was stated that she would continue her hosting duties of ''Millionaire'' for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 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 or fourth hours 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 for the season. She made the announcement by saying "Now I've just got one job" to her co-host Matt Lauer.

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''^[6] 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.^[7]

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 first season 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.

Family

Vieira married Emmy-award winning^[8] CBS News journalist Richard M. Cohen on 14 June 1986^[9] They reside with their three children in Westchester County, New York. Cohen has had multiple sclerosis since he was 25 years old, and has had two bouts of colon cancer, one in 1999 and one a year later. ^[10]

Footnotes

1. Wit, Wisdom & Warmth: Meredith Vieira Uncensored
2. Meredith Calls "The View" A "Joke"
3. Meredith: "View" Not A Joke, Actually
4. Vieira chosen as Couric's 'Today' Successor
5. NBC Preps for Vieira Announcement
6. Vieira Makes ABC Her Final Answer
7. Meredith Vieira: Her Morning Shift
8. CNN LARRY KING LIVE: Six Great Writers
9. As stated in her ''Meredith Vieira Today'' blog.
10. A Different View

External links

★ Meredith & Richard Interview with ABC7Chicago

★ Meredith Vieira profile at NNDB

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★ Meredith Today Meredith Vieira's official blog at iVillage.com