Savannah Guthrie Biography

Savannah Clark Guthrie (born December 27, 1971) is an American journalist and attorney, working for NBC News.

Guthrie joined NBC in September 2007 as a legal analyst and correspondent, regularly reporting on trials throughout the country. After serving as a White House correspondent between 2008 and 2011 and as co-anchor of the MSNBC program The Daily Rundown in 2010 and 2011, Guthrie was announced as the co-host of The Today Show's third hour alongside Natalie Morales and Al Roker. In that role she substituted as news anchor and main co-host, and appeared as the Chief Legal Analyst across all NBC platforms.

On June 29, 2012, Guthrie was named co-anchor of Today following Ann Curry's reassignment at the network. She debuted as co-anchor, alongside Matt Lauer, Morales and Roker, on Monday, July 9, 2012.

Life and career

Savannah Clark Guthrie, named for her great-grandmother, was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1971, but moved to Tucson, Arizona, two years later. She graduated from Amphitheater High School in Tucson.

Guthrie received her undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Arizona, graduating Cum laude in 1993. She was a member of the Arizona Alpha chapter of Pi Beta Phi. Her first job in broadcasting was at television station KMIZ, in Columbia, Missouri, where she worked for two years before returning to Tucson and a job with NBC affiliate KVOA in 1995. After five years in Arizona, she took a job at WRC-TV, Washington, D.C. where she covered major stories like the September 11, 2001, attack on The Pentagon and the 2001 anthrax attacks.

After working several years as a broadcast journalist Guthrie chose to resume her higher education, receiving a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2002. She is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and Arizona, having scored first place on the Arizona Bar Exam. She also was a member of Order of the Coif and received the International Academy of Trial Lawyers' Student Advocacy award for her work with victims of domestic violence.

She worked for the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where she served as a litigation associate, specializing in white-collar criminal defense. Prior to serving in this capacity, she was a Law Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center, teaching a first-year Legal Research and Writing workshop on a weekly basis.

In 2004, she became a national trial correspondent for CourtTV. She covered high-profile legal proceedings including the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, the abduction and murder trial of Carlie Brucia, the Martha Stewart case, and the Michael Jackson trial.

Guthrie became a reporter for NBC News in September 2007. She covered Sarah Palin's 2008 vice-presidential race from Fairbanks, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Sioux City, Iowa, and Washington. On December 18, she was named White House correspondent for NBC News. In this capacity, she contributed to all NBC News properties. She substituted for David Shuster on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and Willie Geist on Way Too Early. She also substituted for David Gregory on Meet the Press on August 21, 2011, and April 1, 2012.

Guthrie was the commencement speaker for the University of Arizona's 2011 graduation ceremony, as well as for Hobart and William Smith Colleges' 2012 graduating classes.

Today

After Guthrie substituted for both Meredith Vieira and Ann Curry on Today, it was confirmed on May 9, 2011, that she would become co-host of the 9 a.m. hour, alongside Natalie Morales and Al Roker, and the show's Chief Legal Editor. The move came after Vieira announced her departure from the show as co-host of the main program, and the subsequent promotions of Curry and Morales to main co-host and news anchor, respectively. Guthrie departed The Daily Rundown for Today on June 8, 2012. She also became NBC News's Chief Legal Analyst, making her first appearance in this role on May 25, 2011. On June 29, 2012, it was announced that Guthrie will co-anchor Today, replacing Curry. Her first day as co-anchor, alongside Matt Lauer, was July 9, 2012.

Personal life

While covering the trial of Michael Jackson, Guthrie met English-born BBC News presenter Mark Orchard. After Orchard divorced his first wife, journalist Anne Kornblut, the couple married in December 2005. Guthrie and Orchard divorced in 2009, and later that year she began a relationship with Democratic political and communications consultant Michael Feldman. Guthrie lives in the SoHo district in Manhattan. .