Hoda Kotb

About

Hoda Kotb ( HOH-də KOT-bee; born August 9, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She was the main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show Today from 2018 to 2025, and co-host of its entertainment-focused fourth hour from 2007 to 2025. Kotb also formerly served as a correspondent for the television news magazine program Dateline NBC.

Kotb was born to Egyptian Muslim parents in Norman, Oklahoma, and grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Alexandria, Virginia. She lived in New Orleans throughout the 1990s. Kotb and her family lived in Egypt for a year, as well as in Nigeria. She has a brother, Adel, and a sister, Hala. Her mother, Sameha (“Sami”), worked at the Library of Congress. Her father, Abdel Kader Kotb (1932–1985) was a fossil energy specialist and was listed in the Who’s Who of Technology.
During a 92nd Street Y interview, Kotb hinted at her Muslim roots when she recounted her memories of annual summer vacations in Egypt.
She graduated from Fort Hunt High School in 1982. She was elected homecoming queen and selected to speak at her graduating class’s baccalaureate service. In her college years at Virginia Tech, Kotb was…