Meredith Vieira

After earning a degree from Tufts University, Meredith Vieira began a career in the media with a job as a radio personality for a station in Massachusetts. She made her way to television, rising through a series of bigger and bigger local markets until she found a steady job at the network owned and operated WCBS in New York. She began appearing on television programs such as West 57th and 60 Minutes, leading to an offer to change networks from ABC. She accepted that job, becoming a regular contributor to Turning Point, a show that was canceled in 1997. Vieira landed on her feet, however, as a co-host of the Barbara Walters-hosted morning talk show The View. Her popularity rose steadily, eventually leading to a stint hosting the daytime syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? In 2006, she was tapped to replace Katie Couric as the host of The Today Show on NBC. She stayed on the signature morning show for five years, stepping down in 2011 when she was replaced by Ann Curry.