Savannah Guthrie biography

Synopsis

Born in Melbourne, Australia and raised in Tucson Arizona, Savannah Guthrie got her start in television at NBC affiliates in Missouri, Arizona and Washington, D.C., right out of college. Guthrie earned a law degree at Georgetown University and became a legal correspondent, first for Court TV, then NBC. In 2011, she began working at the Today show, and was named a co-host of the show in July 2012, replacing Ann Curry.

Early Life

Named after her great-great-grandomother, Savannah Clark Guthrie was born on December 27, 1971 in Melbourne, Australia, where her father, a mining engineer had been sent on business. When she was 2 years old, Guthrie and her family moved to Tucson, Arizona. She was one of three children, and learned to play tennis and the piano as a child. When she was 16, her father passed away, and her mother, a stay-at-home mom, returned to work. Guthrie later said that her mom was her biggest inspiration.

After high school, Guthrie attended the University of Arizona. She was initially unsure of what to study, and her mother suggested taking classes in journalism. While in school, Guthrie landed a job at a local public television station. When she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in 1993, she took a job at a local TV station in Columbia, Missouri, where she worked for two years before she was offered a position with an NBC affiliate in her hometown of Tucson. Five years later, Guthrie headed east to another NBC affiliate, WRC-TV, in Washington, D.C., where she covered the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Pentagon and anthrax mailings. While working as a freelance reporter, she was also earning a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. She graduated, magna cum laude, in 2002, and received the highest score on the Arizona bar exam.

From 2002 to 2003, Guthrie practiced law with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, and Feld, and specialized in white-collar criminal defense. She returned to TV journalism in 2004, as a legal affairs correspondent for Court TV.

NBC and the 'Today' Show

In 2007 Guthrie returned to NBC as a legal correspondent, before becoming the network's White House correspondent from 2008 to 2011. She covered the 2008 presidential election, and most notably traveled with the Sarah Palin campaign. Guthrie was part of the team that ultimately won an Emmy for their coverage on election night. In 2010 and 2011, she also co-anchored The Daily Rundown on MSNBC.

In June 2011, Guthrie joined the Today show as co-host of the third hour, as well as chief legal correspondent. In addition to interviewing subjects such as Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Meryl Streep, she courted controversy in an interview where she compared breastfeeding to going to the bathroom.

One year later, in July 2012, Guthrie became co-anchor of Today, replacing Ann Curry. On her first day, her co-anchor, Matt Lauer, gave her an enthusiastic welcome, and told the audience that she had a great attitude and "weird" sense of humor.

Personal Life

Guthrie met BBC journalist Mark Orchard while covering the Michael Jackson child molestation trial in 2005, and they married in December of that year. They divorced in January 2009. In May 2013, Guthrie announced her engagement to media consultant Mike Feldman. Feldman proposed to Guthrie while the pair were on vacation in the Caribbean. The couple had dated for four years prior to getting engaged.

In an NBC video responding to viewers' questions, Guthrie said that she re-reads Jane Eyre at least once a year, and that she'd love to have the opportunity to meet and jam on the guitar with Shawn Colvin or Patty Griffin.