Katie Couric

The newscaster with the thousand-watt smile, Katie Couric became a vital companion to millions of Americans getting ready for work when she assumed hosting duties of the Today show in 1991. Effervescent, intelligent, and always energetic, Couric became a cultural icon during her 15-year run on the program, sharing the sympathy of legions when her husband died in 1998 of colon cancer. In order to spread public awareness about the preventative nature of colon cancer, Couric surprised viewers in 2000 by broadcasting her own colonoscopy on national television. Always a risk taker, Couric announced in 2006 that she'd be leaving the program to become the first solo female anchor of a nightly national news program at CBS. ~ Rovi