Today Anchor Savannah Guthrie's Head-Turning Transformation

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Savannah Guthrie's head-turning transformation has included multiple heartaches, and she's been very open with the world about them. That's part of why she's one of the most beloved and trusted morning show anchors on TV. In addition to the tragic, sudden passing of her dad, Charles Guthrie, and the harrowing disappearance of her mom, Nancy Guthrie, that gripped the nation, Savannah has also been open about her years-long struggle with self-acceptance. "I've never once felt good about how I looked on the outside," she told Health in 2019 (though we know she's a star who looks stunning without makeup). "... I never looked good in a bikini. So I'm not even sad or mourning some past glory. It never existed!" she added.

But while Savannah may still be working toward self-acceptance ("I'm not there yet, but that's my goal," she said), she's certainly worked hard to get to where she is today and has experienced as many dizzying highs as lows. Much like her fellow "Today" anchor, Sheinelle Jones, who's had a gorgeous transformation, Savannah has gone from a young girl born on the other side of the world, to a qualified lawyer, to one of the women waking up America each morning. And she does it all while balancing life in the Big Apple as an in-demand wife and mom of two with a super busy schedule (oh, and a regular 3 a.m. wake-up call).

Savannah Guthrie was born in Melbourne, Australia, to American parents Charles Guthrie and Nancy Guthrie, who moved Down Under for Charles' work. Savannah left her birth country when she was 2, though, when the family moved back to the U.S. "I have no memory of [Australia] because I was too young," she'd later tell People.

Surprisingly, considering her massive success, young Savannah wasn't exactly a model student growing up. "I wasn't much of a go-getter in my younger years. In high school, I was kind of a slacker," she told Refinery29. "It was only in college when I started taking journalism classes that the fire was lit, and I really wanted to accomplish things. Before that, I was happy to hang out with my friends and listen to grunge music and wear my chunky heels," she added. 

But while she may not have taken school all that seriously, her parents were adamant that their children (Savannah has a sister, Annie Guthrie, and a brother, Camron Guthrie) grew up to be well-rounded individuals. "My parents were very focused on who we were and our character a lot more than, certainly, physical appearance. Even sports or activities. We did all that stuff. I was never any good at sports," she said.

Savannah Guthrie was just 16 years old when she lost her dad to a heart attack. And the tragedy changed the Guthrie family forever. "The loss of my father was shocking and devastating. It cracked open our family and crushed us," Savannah told People. "He was our center. We just idealized him and adored him. He was larger than life, and funny, and charming, and adorable. His loss was so sudden and so shocking," she added.

The anchor also opened up about the heartbreaking family tragedy during a candid appearance on "Now What? With Brooke Shields" in 2023, musing [**10:08**], "There's before my dad died and there's after, and it's profound." She also explained how her father's shocking death potentially changed the trajectory of her whole life. "I often think that I would have been totally different if my father had lived. I just don't know that I would have chosen this career ... I might have stayed in my hometown," she said.

The Guthrie family pulled together following the sudden loss, and the then future TV star decided to stay in Arizona for college. She began attending the University of Arizona in 1989 to study journalism and lived at home with her family. "We didn't have money to afford the dorm. And that was thing one, but the other was that my sister and I really felt like we should stick with my mom and not leave her alone," Savannah recalled to "Today."

During Savannah Guthrie's time at the University of Arizona, she left her home state and went to Washington, D.C., to undertake an internship on Capitol Hill. "I loved being there. I was always interested in news and politics. So to be there and run around with all the other interns and have fun and get into a little trouble ... It was really fun," she said on "Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky." The following year, after graduating, Savannah jumped into life in the newsroom. She initially headed to Montana to work for the local network KTVM before returning to Arizona in 1995 to work as a reporter and news anchor for the local NBC affiliate (where Savannah looked unrecognizable with her natural hair color). But this young adult's dreams were much bigger than a local news gig in her hometown.

Around 1999, she made a major career change and enrolled in law school at Washington's Georgetown University. "I never really fit exactly in local news. I loved it, but I didn't look right," she explained, sharing she considered heading back to college her backup plan. But becoming a student again was no easy feat. "I had to have a part-time job. I borrowed every cent to go to law school ... I got a job at the local NBC station," she recalled. Savannah also knew she was taking a serious risk by leaving Arizona again and heading back to Washington. "It was a gamble to quit this television career and start a new path and go to law school full-time, because I wasn't sure I was done with TV. On the other hand, I felt like it was worth the risk," she told Georgetown University.

Savannah Guthrie graduated with a law degree from Georgetown University in 2002 and landed a gig at a law firm soon after — but she just couldn't stay away from the newsroom. This time, though, her big career ambitions had a legal twist. Savannah began working at Court TV, which put her on national TV and saw her spend time in New York. "Suddenly this perfect job for me just kind of fell into my lap. Well, I mean, I it didn't fall in my lap. I went looking for it, but it was the right time," she recalled on "Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky." Savannah worked her way up at the network, serving as national trial correspondent and legal affairs correspondent, until she left to explore bigger and better things in 2007.

That included an exciting new gig at NBC News. Savannah became a regular contributor on the likes of "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" and "Today," which led to the TV personality being promoted to NBC News White House correspondent in late 2008. But the best was still yet to come.

Amid the huge moves in her career, a lot was going on in Savannah Guthrie's personal life as well. In 2005, she married journalist Mark Orchard. Savannah has mainly shied away from discussing the details of her first marriage, but has made a couple of rare comments about the impact their 2009 divorce had on her. "It was horrible and sad and it broke my heart. It took me years to recover. I'm not blaming anyone but I don't really want to get into it," she said on "Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky." Savannah also touched on the difficult period of her life in her 2024 book, "Mostly What God Does: Reflections on Seeking and Finding His Love Everywhere." "I can't write about other things — things I do remember but I don't want to talk about. There is no scandal here, just disappointment," she wrote (via USA Today).

Following her sad divorce, the NBC star struggled due to her personal life not looking the way she'd hoped. "When I was in my 30s, I really wished to be married and to be a mom, and things just did not happen that fast for me," she said on "Today," crediting her mom, Nancy Guthrie, for keeping her spirits up during the difficult time. "[Nancy Guthrie] said, 'Of course you'll be a mom, and you're going to be a wonderful mom.' And for her to have that confidence and faith was so meaningful to me. It got me through some really hard times," Savannah added.

In 2011, Savannah Guthrie landed the role that would make her a nationwide household name when NBC confirmed she was joining "Today" as co-host of the third hour and chief legal analyst. "I am really excited to move to New York," Savannah told "Today," admitting she wasn't even worried about the (very!) early starts. "Coming from the White House beat, I'm accustomed to the early schedule. I've been getting up at 5 a.m. for a few years now," she teased.

The following year, Savannah moved up in the NBC family again when she was announced as "Today"'s new co-anchor, replacing Ann Curry. In a very candid admission years later, though, Savannah confessed she didn't really want the gig. "I came at a time of a lot of controversy for the show, and it wasn't, I don't think, a happy occasion, really — for anyone, including me," she told Parade, admitting she cried unhappy tears when she landed the role. "It was because I was sure that it wouldn't last and that I'd be thrown by the wayside within a few weeks or months," she explained. Fortunately, that didn't happen, and she became one of the show's most beloved anchors.

But while things ran smoothly at "Today," Savannah's new role made her incredibly busy. In 2017, she gave Refinery29 an insight into her typical daily schedule, which included waking up between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. each weekday morning. "I do my homework that I have, the preparation I have for the show, in the morning," she noted.

Savannah Guthrie may have experienced a tough divorce, but she didn't let the heartache stop her from walking down the aisle a second time. The giddy star confirmed on "Today" in 2013 that she'd gotten engaged to her longtime boyfriend Mike Feldman, whom she'd met in 2008 at his 40th birthday party. She proudly showed off her engagement ring on the morning show and told her equally excited co-anchors with a big smile, "I'm really happy."

Savannah and Feldman married in 2014 in her home state of Arizona. But they had more to celebrate on their big day than just an exchange of rings. The happy couple made a huge announcement when they told their guests they were expecting their first child together. "I'm pregnant with hope, full up with gratitude. I'm bursting out with joy," Savannah, who was 42 at the time, said (via People).

Savannah Guthrie had a life dream realized in 2014 when she and Mike Feldman welcomed their daughter, Vale Guthrie Feldman. "I think we found heaven in this little hospital room in New York City," Savannah sweetly told "Today" shortly after Vale's birth. The news anchor later admitted to Good Housekeeping that she'd accepted she may never become a mom before welcoming Vale. "I stopped even letting myself hope or believe I could [get pregnant], because the years were getting on ... I just thought it wasn't likely," she said.

Tragically after welcoming Vale, Savannah shared the reality of her fertility journey and confirmed she experienced a miscarriage. But she and Feldman were determined to give Vale a sibling. They underwent two rounds of IVF (which can take a serious emotional and physical toll on the body) and she fell pregnant with their second, a son named Charley Guthrie Feldman, who was born in 2016. "I would say Vale was a miracle, and Charley was a medical miracle," Savannah later told Health. "I always say, Charley was, like, the last egg out. He really was. And we're so blessed," she added.

Savannah also got candid about becoming a mom twice over in her 40s. "Having kids later in life wasn't so much a choice — it was just the way life happened for me — but when I think about being in my 30s and what I was doing and trying to build a career, it would have been incredibly difficult for me to have kids back then," she admitted, joining the ranks of celebrities who have gotten real about the career implications of pregnancy and motherhood.

Savannah Guthrie made an emotional trip back to her birth country in 2015. In a touching Mother's Day piece for "Today," Savannah and Nancy Guthrie traveled back to Australia to see where they once lived. The two visited the hospital where Savannah was born (and shed a few tears!) and caught up with their former neighbors. The morning news anchor admitted, "To get to go back with my mom is really special."

Two years after her trip home, Savannah celebrated another big milestone when she added children's author to her résumé. The star teamed up with author Allison Oppenheim on the children's book "Princesses Wear Pants," which was inspired by a photo of Kate Middleton wearing pants while watching a rugby match and written with Savannah's and Oppenheim's daughters in mind. "It's really about saying, 'Hey, young ladies. You can be a girly girl. You can dazzle, you can love makeup, you can love all that stuff. That's fine — or not," Savannah told "Today." "But be a person of substance. Be a doer. And that's a lesson for girls and boys," she added. In 2025, Savannah released her second children's book, "Mostly What God Does Is Love You."

Savannah Guthrie experienced a scary time in 2019 as she took some time away from work. Her young son, Charley, accidentally threw a toy train that hit her face and left her temporarily blind in one eye. "It tore my retina," Savannah explained on "Today." "... It turned out to be kind of serious. They were afraid my retina was detached, so they told me to just take it easy," she continued. The TV star discovered she needed to have a laser procedure to fix the problem, sharing, "They're essentially trying to weld back this tear in the retina very carefully, and really trying hard to avoid the retina detaching and avoid having to do a major surgery."

Savannah later opened up about how scared she was about potentially losing her vision on "Dr. Oz." She explained she became incredibly worried that the blindness in one eye could become permanent after struggling with her vision for three weeks. "I was scared. That was the first time I was really scared. I called the surgeon and I said, 'Now, I'm starting to lose my vision altogether.' He said, 'That's why we're operating tomorrow,'" she said. The surgery was successful, and Savannah underwent a common follow-up cataract surgery in summer 2020. "I cried, actually, it was just so overwhelming and such a relief," she said on "Today" of the results of the procedure, which vastly improved her vision.

Savannah Guthrie had an incredibly difficult start to 2026. In late 2025, she confirmed on "Today" she'd be taking time off at the start of the new year for throat surgery. "I have vocal nodules and I also have a polyp," she explained. Savannah let the "Today" cameras follow her journey, and the NBC cameras captured the sweet moment the star broke down in tears when she heard her voice for the first time post-surgery.

Shortly after Savannah returned to the show, though, she experienced unimaginable family turmoil. On February 1, 2026, Savannah's mom, Nancy Guthrie, was declared missing. A major police and FBI investigation ensued, as Nancy's disappearance was believed to be a kidnapping or abduction. The day after Nancy's disappearance, Savannah issued a statement that read (via People), "On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers, and messages of support. Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom." She stepped down from her plans to head to Italy to cover the Winter Olympics for NBC and returned to Arizona to help find her mom. 

Savannah, Annie Guthrie, and Camron Guthrie appeared in multiple emotional videos pleading with possible kidnappers to bring Nancy back safely after unverified ransom notes demanding bitcoin were received by media outlets, including TMZ. "We received your message and we understand," Savannah said in one Instagram video while flanked by her equally distraught siblings. "We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay." At the time of writing, though, Nancy is still missing.