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Katie Couric

Couric was born in Arlington, Virginia to John Couric (an Episcopalian) and Elinor (who was Jewish). She enrolled in the University of Virginia in 1975, graduating in 1979 with a degree in American Studies. During her fourth year at the University, Couric was chosen to live on the Lawn, the heart of Thomas Jefferson's academical village. Her journalism career began when she was hired as a desk assistant for the ABC News bureau in Washington, D.C., later joining CNN as an assignment editor. Between 1984 and 1986, she worked as a general-assignment reporter for WTVJ in Miami, Florida. During the following two years, she reported for WRC-TV, an NBC station in Washington, D.C., work which earned her an Associated Press award and an Emmy.

Couric joined , John Palmer, Deborah Norville, and Faith Daniels as anchor of the former NBC News program NBC News at Sunrise, and also for Faith Daniels, Deborah Norville, and John Palmer as the newsreader on as national correspondent, becoming a co-host in February 1991, at first temporarily when Norville had a baby, but later on in April 1991 on a more permanent basis when Norville left , in 1995 was a report on the state of children in the U.S. Katie Couric has filled in for Tom Brokaw on

Couric has interviewed many international political figures and celebrities during her career, including Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, First Lady Barbara Bush, John Ramsey and his wife Patsy Ramsey, Trisha Meili (known as ), and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. John F. Kennedy Jr. gave Couric his first and last interviews. In addition to that, Couric has won multiple television journalism awards through her career.

In a media crossover to animated film, she was the voice of news-reporter Katie Current in the film , in the U.S. version. Most non-U.S. versions use a different voice, but she is still credited. She also made a cameo appearance as a prison guard at Georgia State Prison in

Couric's husband died of colon cancer in 1998 at the age of 42; today, she is a prominent spokeswoman for colon cancer awareness. She underwent a colonoscopy on the air in March 2000, and, according to a study published by Archives of Internal Medicine (July 14, 2003), inspired many others to get checked as well:

dlKatie Couric's televised colon cancer awareness campaign was temporarily associated with an increase in colonoscopy use in 2 different data sets. These findings suggest that a celebrity spokesperson can have a substantial impact on public participation in preventive care programs.

On October 7, 2005, Couric broadcast her own mammogram on the Today Show, in the hopes of recreating the "Couric Effect" around the issue of breast cancer. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. [1]

Couric has been admired and criticized for blurring the lines between entertainment and serious journalism. Namely, Couric's choice of short skirts while hosting the Today Show has led to her legs being one of the most widely identified aspect of her on-screen persona and the subject of many commentaries and Web sites [2]. In the New York Times, TV critica Alessandra Stanley wrote, "The camera fixates on Ms. Couric's legs during interviews, she performs in innumerable skits and stunts, and her clowning is given center stage even during news events." (April 25, 2005) [3]

On May 12, 2003, Couric guest hosted the late night television show The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and gathered 42% more viewers than on normal nights. CNN [4] and the noted that instead of using Leno's regular solid desk, "workers cut away the front of her desk to expose her legs while she interviewed

Couric married Jay Monahan in 1989. Couric had her first daughter, Elinor Tully Monahan, in 1991; her second daughter, Caroline, was born in 1996. Monahan died of colon cancer in 1998.

Her sister, Virginia Democratic politician Emily Couric, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 54 in 2001 after a grueling battle with the disease. Couric was very close to her sister and gave a touching eulogy at the funeral. She pointed out how it irritated Emily when people asked her if she was Katie Couric's sister. Katie told the mourners "I just want you to know I will always be proud to say "I am Emily Couric's sister."

Celebrity news, such as [6], reported that she dated smooth jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, but they reportedly broke up in February 2005.

She was previously and has intermittently since been linked with multi-millionaire TV producer Tom Werner, whose home base of California has reportedly proved problematic for the New York-based Couric.

There has been intense speculation of Couric's next career move. Her contract with is set to expire in May 2006. CBS, which is currently in the process of searching for a successor for Dan Rather, has made it no secret they are very interested in luring Couric over to the anchor seat. In a recent interview on Broadcastingcable.com, according to sources inside CBS, Les Moonves is working hard to quickly put a new face on the beleaguered news division and make it look like a place with growth potential. Meredith Vieira from The View and the syndicated version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire has been mentioned as the possible replacement. They believe nothing would send that message more clearly than landing A-list talent like Couric.

However, NBC has not taken this situation lightly. Couric last renewed her contract with NBC in December 2001, signing a 4 12-year deal that sources said was worth about $60 million, one of the most lucrative in U.S. television. Speculation abounded that the network was willing to go to any length to keep Couric away from CBS lest it lose ratings ground.