Arab Americans

Hoda Kotb

Hoda Kotb (/ˈhoʊdə ˈkɒtbiː/;^[1] Arabic: هدى قطب‎ Hudā Quṭb Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [ˈhodæ ˈʔotˤb]; hoh-de kot-bee born August 9, 1964) is an Egyptian-American television news anchor and TV host known as the co-host of the Today Show’sfourth hour with Kathie Lee Gifford. She won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2010 as part of The Today Show team. Kotb is also a correspondent for NBC‘s Dateline NBC.

Life

Kotb was born in Norman, Oklahoma, but grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia^[2] and Alexandria, Virginia,^[3] where she graduated from Fort Hunt High School in 1982. She was elected Homecoming Queen^[4] and selected to speak at her graduating class’ Baccalaureate service.^[5]

Kotb’s parents are from Egypt. Kotb and her family lived in Egypt for a year, as well as in Nigeria.^[6] In Arabic, the name “Hoda” means “guidance” and is a common name among Arab women. The surname “Kotb” (Qutb) means “pole,” as in North or South Pole, and is a common surname among Egyptians. For a period during her career, she spelled her surnameKotbe to aid in pronunciation; she has since reverted to using the original form, Kotb. Kotb’s father is deceased, and as of 2014, her mother works at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.^[7]

In 1986, Kotb graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism.^[2] Kotb was the keynote speaker at her alma mater for the 2008 Virginia Tech graduation,^[8] where she played Metallica‘s “Enter Sandman” over her iPod.^[9] In 2010, Kotb was elected to a three-year term to the Virginia Tech Alumni Association Board of Directors.^[10]

Kotb wrote a New York Times Bestselling Book, Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee,^[11] which was released in hardcover in October 2010. On January 15, 2013, she released her second book Ten Years Later: Six People Who Faced Adversity and Transformed Their Lives, in which she chronicles six stories by identifying a life-changing event in each subject’s life and then revisiting each of those six people a decade later.

Career

Kotb appears on the fourth hour of the Today Show, co-hosting with Kathie Lee Gifford. She has also been a correspondent for Dateline NBC since 1998. Kotb occasionally fills in as the co-anchor of Today for Katie Couric, Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry, and Savannah Guthrie.

Appearances

• 1986: CBS News – news assistant Cairo, Egypt
• 1986–1989: Morning anchor and general assignment reporter WQAD-TV, ABC Moline, Illinois; and anchor WXVT-TV, CBS Greenville and Greenwood, Mississippi
• 1989–1991: Weekend anchor and reporter WINK-TV Fort Myers, Florida
• 1992–1998: Anchor and reporter WWL-TV, CBS New Orleans, Louisiana
• 1998–present: Dateline NBC correspondent
• 2004–2008: Host of the weekly syndicated series Your Total Health
• 2007–present: Co-host of the fourth hour of Today with Kathie Lee Gifford

Personal life

In her college years at Virginia Tech, Kotb was a member of Delta Delta Delta Women’s Sorority, Beta Nu Chapter.^[12]

In 2005, Kotb married former University of New Orleans tennis coach Burzis Kanga.^[13] The marriage ended in divorce two years later.

In March 2007, Kotb underwent a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery for breast cancer, and has since become an advocate for breast cancer awareness.^[14] Kotb allowed Today Show cameras to follow her throughout her cancer battle. After she was announced cancer-free, her story was documented on the show.

In January 2015, Kotb said she has been in a relationship with New York financier Joel Schiffman for two years.^[15]

References