Fourteen-time Emmy winner, Meredith Vieira, is easily one of the most recognizable journalists on
TV. But her road to mainstream success certainly wasn't easy. From enduring devastating challenges
in her personal life, to shattering the glass ceiling in her career, these are the battles
Meredith Vieira has faced — and overcome. Unfortunately, like many of us, Vieira was
teased about her body, as a kid. Perhaps the first instance of this was when she was riding her bike,
and one of her friends made a comment about her backside. She revealed on Today,
"To this day […] I remember all of it. And to this day, it sticks in my head."
At the time, Vieira says she was mortified and
became desperate to get skinner, no matter what. She explained,
"I went on this ridiculous diet. All I did was drink Tab and ate like five Ritz crackers
a day for the entire summer. [I was] maybe 10 when I did that for like a month and a half."
"I was a very chubby kid. I was always like
ten to fifteen pounds overweight. I went on a lot of diets."
The trauma from the incident runs deep, though Vieira doesn't blame her friend, who was also
just a kid. But even now, as a TV presenter, Vieira is forced to focus on her image. She added,
"I'm always struggling with it. […] We live in a looks-ist society where even when you
think you're looking good, there are plenty of people out there — especially if you're
in front of a camera — who make it their point to tell you, 'Nah, not so much.'"
"Every nine seconds, a woman is abused or assaulted in this country. Every nine seconds."
In response to the 2014 "Why I Stayed" hashtag about domestic violence, Vieira
opened up about an abusive relationship she had been in, when she was younger.
She stayed with that person for a long time, for a variety of reasons, explaining on her show,
"I was scared of him. I was scared if I tried to leave something worse could happen to me."
She also worried that some of what was happening might be her fault.
Things got especially bad one night when Vieira's partner threw her into a scalding hot shower,
then outside of their apartment, into the hallway, without any clothes. But despite
the violence of that particular incident, she still didn't feel she could leave. She admitted,
"I continued to stay in that relationship until I was offered a job in another state, and that's
where I felt I had the ability to get away." In 1989, Vieira landed her dream job:
She was hired as a correspondent on 60 Minutes — the youngest person ever to
join the team at the time. But just two years later, she resigned from her post,
when bigwig Don Hewitt wouldn't let her work part-time after the birth of her second child.
Given Hewitt's status, Vieira says she really didn't have a choice. She told the L.A Times,
"I mean, he was the king. And so he could probably do no wrong."
Despite having to sacrifice a coveted position, Vieira's decision made a huge impact on working
mothers at the time — and she's still admired by other women for the move, today. She added,
"I don't sit around talking about it, but, yeah, I hope that it somehow [has] gotten into the DNA."
"A lot of people criticized me after the fact."
"'You're putting women behind, you know, you're setting them back.' And my attitude was,
if I stay for the wrong reason, then I'm really putting people back."
As it turned out, she impacted an entire generation, as more and more women are
working in top positions in TV. Naturally, Vieira is 100 percent here for it. She said,
"If you're experienced and you're good at what you do, why not? The men have been doing it forever."
"You were a beautiful model for so many of us out there,
who wanted to work but, not at the expense of our family life."
Vieira met her husband, journalist Richard Cohen , in 1982, and the pair tied the knot
four years later. But early in their relationship, Cohen opened up about his devastating reality:
He'd been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 25. He admitted to Yahoo Life,
"I sort of learned the hard way to get it on the table. [Meredith] didn't blink."
"When you got a diagnosis like that, there was nothing they could do."
"It was sort of like, you got it, so long, have a good life."
While Vieira has been a constant support for her husband,
Cohen — who is now legally blind — has certainly had his struggles over the years. He said,
"I can give you a long list of things that I can't
do anymore. You just sort of learn to accept that."
But that doesn't mean that this couple dwells on the hard times. Instead, they have learned how to
make the most of their situation, and focus on all of the good things in their lives. Cohen added,
"You don't have to be controlled by it."
Like roughly 12 percent of American women — as reported by the CDC, Vieira initially faced
enormous challenges in starting her family. In fact, she endured four miscarriages before
finally giving birth to her three children, as documented in her husband's book, Chasing Hope.
While it was a devastating chapter in her life, many years and three thriving adult children
later, Vieira can look back on it with a sense of humor. Namely at the fact that, back then,
she put her prescribed progesterone suppositories in the wrong place,
if you know what we mean. It was only after calling her doctor that Vieira realized her
hilarious mistake. If she had kept doing what she was doing, she admitted on Today,
"I don't know what would have happened, I definitely wouldn't have had a child."
Vieira hopes that others going through a similar journey know they're not alone;
she understands it all, and she's here to share the trials and the joy.
"That's really the goal of what we're trying to do, is
to touch people, to let people know that they're not alone."
Along with his lifelong battle with MS, in a brutal twist, Richard Cohen was diagnosed with
colon cancer — twice. The first was in 1999, when he was treated and sent into remission.
But the disease returned, sending Cohen into a deep depression. Vieira told ABC News,
"He went into himself like I've never seen. I think he was a much angrier man.
That second surgery carried with it a lot of stuff afterwards [during] the recovery period."
While things were quite dark for the family for a while,
eventually Cohen began to recover both his health and his spirit. And through it all,
the couple relied on one particular thing to get them through: humor. Vieira said,
"Even at the worst, right after the second colon cancer,
we always found something to laugh about. It's what gets you through."
"Good morning, I'm Meredith Vieira,
and this is the first day of our brand new show called The View."
ABC's daytime talk sensation, The View, hit the air in 1997, featuring five women
of varying ages and backgrounds — and one of those O.G. hosts was Meredith Vieira.
But after riding the wave of ratings success, eventually the show's drama-fueled format began
to grate on Vieira's nerves. She recalled in the 2019 tell-all, Ladies Who Punch:
The Explosive Inside Story of The View,
"The show was evolving. It didn't feel the same way. The vibe was getting weird. […] I
felt like it was becoming a little bit more about acting than connecting."
Vieira formally left the show in 2006,
telling TIME that she felt it had even become hard to watch. She said,
"I'm proud of the work we did there,
but it's not a good time in the history of the show. It sort of became a joke."
"Every family has dysfunction and when you work in television, that's your family."
In late 2006, Vieira landed an anchor spot on Today. But, just six months into her stint on
the show, she and a team were dispatched to cover a tragic story the day it happened:
the massacre at Virginia Tech. She wrote in an essay for Today,
"We were live on the university campus, trying to make sense out of something totally senseless.
I kept thinking to myself, 'You're a journalist. Make sure you get this right.'"
Vieira was worried that students would see her as trying to capitalize on
their tragedy — but then one young lady approached her directly. Vieira recalled,
"She said that she had watched Today for years and had grown to see us as an extension of her
family. And right now she needed a mom to hold her. […] I am forever grateful to have given a
voice to the students there. And to have provided some comfort for at least one."
But as it turns out, she unknowingly comforted many. Several former students
later reunited on Vieira's show, saying of her compassionate coverage of the event:
"There was a lot of news crews just talking about the violence and what had happened,
and you gave us the opportunity to celebrate our friend's life."
While anchoring Today is likely a dream job for many aspiring journalists,
Vieira quickly discovered she didn't want to stay at that post forever. She told Good Housekeeping,
"After a four-year contract, I signed on for one more year. But as the year progressed,
I began to realize that it wasn't working for me in terms of my personal life."
"We'll be back in a moment, but today — but first — but
first! I'm so excited. We'll be back in a moment, but first this is Today on NBC."
In reality, Vieira was exhausted. She was getting up at 2:30 a.m. every day, to prepare
for her 4:30 a.m. call time — and it was all too much for her and her husband. She said,
"Sleep deprivation is a bad thing. When you're tired all the time, you just don't
feel well. […] You don't define yourself by your job, but I found myself kind of doing that."
2017 ushered in the peak of the Me Too movement. Once it was amplified on social media,
awareness erupted worldwide, resulting in the demise of many high-profile figures.
And, accused of assaulting an NBC staffer at the Sochi Olympics,
Today co-host Matt Lauer was fired in November of that year.
Naturally, Vieira was devastated to learn
of the accusations against her friend. She explained to People,
"[It] was like a gut punch. I was [in L.A.] and my phone started going off at 4 a.m.
I didn't know what to make of all of it."
"There are consequences to actions."
Ever sympathetic, Vieira feels that what happened was likely
more complicated for all parties than the media made it out to be. She added,
"The whole thing is just sad. And it's been rough in a lot of places with a lot of people."
On July 24th, 2020, television icon Regis Philbin died of natural causes at 88 years old.
For Vieira — who once took over Philbin's spot on Who Wants to be a Millionaire
after he departed the show — the loss was significant. Vieira revealed to People,
"Well the obvious [thing] that everyone will miss is he was the constant entertainer. He
was so good at conversation, so good at listening and such a great listener."
"What is the big deal, Charles? I dunno, you must be doing something right. Heh?"
But for all of the joy that Philbin shared with audiences over the course of roughly 60 years in
the industry, there's one thing that Vieira said she'd miss more than anything else. She revealed,
"What I will miss the most is his kindness. […] [He]
never forgot that he was this kid from the Bronx."
Philbin had reached out to Vieira when she first launched her own talk show. Philbin understood
the daunting challenge in getting things off the ground and generously offered his help,
appearing several times as, of course, the most delightful guest.
"There are a lot of great people in this industry, but there are a lot that, like in
anything, maybe don't really wish you well. Regis wished everybody well."
Vieira has crafted an incredible career over the course of several decades. She's hosted
game shows, helmed talk shows, and covered important breaking news. But like many of us,
even she has struggled with her confidence over the years. She told ABC News,
"It doesn't matter where you are in your career. Everyone,
especially women, has imposter syndrome."
"Why am I doing this? What was I thinking?"
But Vieira also says there's a light at the end of the tunnel for those of us
facing a career pivot. She explained,
"Once you get that piece cracked, the more practical part — the 'how do I apply
my skills from one industry to another' — that piece tends to flow automatically."
In 2020, Vieira and her family went on lockdown just like everyone else, in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic that impacted all of our daily lives. Fortunately for Vieira, she was able to
make the most of her time in quarantine with her husband, Richard — as well as their dog,
Jasper. And in the midst of transitioning some of her TV duties to filming from home, she said
she also spent time manifesting gratitude, and focusing on truly appreciating all that she has.
But, unfortunately, Vieira's oldest son Ben and his girlfriend tested positive for the virus,
way back in February. While he is doing fine these days, Vieira explained to Closer Weekly,
"[Ben] had a fever, but he was very lucky — he never needed any hospitalization or
anything like that. And he has since, for a while, tested negative and has been able to
donate blood and plasma, so that has been a great thing to be able to give back."
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