Hoda Kotb, NBC's Today Show co-anchor, has strong ties to Virginia

Hoda KotbPhoto byPeople Screenshot

Hoda Kotb announced on September 26, 2024 that she is stepping away from her two positions at NBC's Today shows in 2025 to spend more time with her family. Since then, people have been researching her ethnicity, background, and how she became a beloved journalist.

Who is Hoda Kotb?

Hoda Kotb is one of television’s most recognizable faces, which people see every weekday morning. The 60-year-old broadcast journalist, television personality, and author is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show Today along with Savannah Guthrie. She is also the co-host of its entertainment-focused fourth hour with Jenna Bush Hager. She has captured audiences with her warm personality and engaging presence on both NBC’s TODAY shows. Hoda formerly served as a correspondent for the television news magazine program Dateline NBC. She has dedicated 26 years to the same network.

As the first woman of Egyptian descent to co-anchor the TODAY show, Kotb has broken barriers and become influential in promoting diversity in mainstream media.

Hoda Kotb's background

Hoda was born on August 9, 1964, in Norman, Oklahoma, to Egyptian immigrants Sami Kotb and Abdel Kader Kotb. Her roots are cemented deep within Egyptian culture because of her frequent family vacations to Egypt.

Hoda said about her name:

“My name Hoda is so weird here, but in Egypt, it’s like Jane. I’ve walked down the streets in Cairo and someone yelled out ‘Hoda!’ and like 10 girls turned around.”

Hoda's Egyptian-American heritage

Hoda doesn't shy away from her Muslim roots. In an interview, she talked about her summer vacations in Egypt and her veiled cousins and how her parents' migration to the United States spared her from having to do the same.

"We met our cousins who looked just like us. Some of them had the head cover on. I still remember going, 'Oh, my God. Like that could have been me.' You don't realize the gift your parents give you when you leave."

Hoda's strong ties to Virginia

Hoda, her brother Adel, and sister Hala spent most of their childhood in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Alexandria, Virginia.

She graduated from Fort Hunt High School in Fairfax, Virginia in 1982. She was elected homecoming queen and selected to speak at her high school graduating baccalaureate service.

Hoda graduated from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism. Kotb was the keynote speaker for the 2008 Virginia Tech graduation.

Therefore, Kotb has strong ties to Virginia in the following areas:

• growing up in Alexandria, Virginia
• graduating from high school in Fairfax, Virginia
• getting her broadcast journalism degree from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia

Hoda has been a gift to Virginia, to America, to those in her company, and to all who have seen her on the NBC shows.