Meredith Vieira Makes Final Exit on Today Show, Wed., Jun.8, 2011

3 months short of her contract expiration, Meredith Vieira has decided she will say her final goodbye to the most watched morning show on television, NBC's , Today Show. On Wed., Jun. 8, 2011 Vieira will bid farewell to the millions of viewers that have had their morning cup of coffee for the past 5 years watching her broadcast the latest world news events with her co-anchor Matt Lauer seated next to her. Ann Curry, NBC's news anchor on the show for the past 14 years will fill the chair which is about to vacated by Vieira.

"Now is the right time", Vieira has been quoted as saying. She's decided to call it quits and move on so she has more time to spend with her family. Meredith Vieira is married to Emmy Award winning TV journalist, Richard Cohen, who has been suffering with multiple sclerosis for years, although he is said to be in fairly good health at the present time. The couple has been married for 25 years and have 3 college age children. They currently live in New York.

Meredith Vieira said she's getting tired of those 2:30 A.M. alarm clock wake-up calls and instead is looking forward to carving out time for some travels with her husband and enjoying life while they are still able too.

In her tenure on the Today Show, Vieira has interviewed everyone from President Barack Obama and first lady, Michelle to Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling's, just to name a couple. Her travels have taken her from the recent Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in London to the devastation of the Haiti and Japan earthquakes. She has at least 8 Emmy awards under her belt.

Meredith Vieira came to the Today Show in Sept. 2006, replacing Katie Couric, who left to anchor the CBS Evening News. Couric has just recently left her anchor position on that show, also.

Before joining the Today Show, Vieira hosted Who Wants To Be A Millionaire(a position she still holds), was a moderator on ABC's The View since it's start in 1997, worked in news on CBS for over a decade, and the list goes on. She is also a well known contributor to several charitable organizations.

Earlier this year, the Today Show extended its streak to 800 consecutive weeks as the most watched morning show on television. No doubt Meredith Vieira's anchoring expertise had a lot to do with that very impressive rating.

Sources:www.msnbc.com
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