Lara Christine Von Seelen
[ (known professionally as Lara Spencer; born June 19, 1969)] is an American television presenter. She is best known for being the co-anchor for ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's ''Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
''. She is also a correspondent for '' Nightline'' and ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
. She was the host of the syndicated entertainment newsmagazine '' The Insider'' from 2004 to 2011 and was a regular contributor to CBS's ''The Early Show
''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999 to January 7, 2012, and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the network since 1954. The program aired Monday through Friday from ...
''. She was the national correspondent for ''Good Morning America'' and spent several years as a lifestyle reporter for WABC-TV
WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neighbor ...
. She hosted ''Antiques Roadshow
''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (g ...
'' on PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
for the 2004 and 2005 seasons and ''Antiques Roadshow FYI'', a spin-off of ''Antiques Roadshow'', during 2005. She hosts the show ''Flea Market Flip'' on both HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...
and the Great American Country
Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies.
It was originally established in ...
channel. In April 2018, she announced she would be only appearing on ''GMA'' three days a week to focus on her television producing.
Biography
Spencer grew up in the New York suburb of Garden City, Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, the daughter of Richard Ernest and Carolyn von Seelen. She graduated from Garden City High School in 1987. She attended Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
on an athletic scholarship for springboard and platform diving and was a nationally ranked competitive diver. She was named an All American Athlete in 1991, her senior year, and graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism
Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...
.
Following college, Spencer went into the NBC page
The NBC Page Program is a 12-month paid fellowship at the NBCUniversal's studios in New York City and Universal City, California. Over the course of one year, pages gain exposure to various areas of the NBCUniversal portfolio. Pages contribute to ...
program, where she would volunteer to work with other reporters in order to gain experience. From there, she landed a position at the CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
affiliate WDEF-TV
WDEF-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by Morris Multimedia, the station maintains studios on Broad Street in Chattanooga and a transmitter in nearby Signal Mountain. Al ...
in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
, where she "was literally a one-man band", serving as reporter, producer, editor, photographer and news van driver. A year later, she joined News 12 Long Island
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...
. Two years later, she was anchoring the 3 a.m. newscast for WABC-TV
WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neighbor ...
. While there, she covered the TWA Flight 800
Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31pm. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. K ...
crash, which was considered her big break.[ She then joined ]ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's ''Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'' in 1999 as a national correspondent.[
Spencer married former ]CNNfn
CNNfn (fn = financial news) was an American cable television news network operated by the CNN subsidiary of the media conglomerate Time Warner from December 29, 1995, and of AOL Time Warner until December 15, 2004. The network was dedicated to co ...
journalist David Haffenreffer on September 30, 2000 at St. Andrew's Dune Church in an Episcopal ceremony. The couple have two children, Kate (2004) and Duff (January 22, 2002). They lived in the Riverside section of Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...
. In March 2015, the couple announced that they had separated and they were divorced in June 2015.
In 2014, Spencer was named grand marshal at Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
's homecoming.[
In 2017, she hosted the limited series ''People Icons''.]
Spencer announced in January 2018 that she was engaged to New York tech entrepreneur Richard McVey. Spencer first met McVey after a mutual friend set them up on a blind date. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of MarketAxess
MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (MarketAxess) is an international financial technology company that operates an electronic trading platform for the institutional credit markets, and also provides market data and post-trade services. It enables institut ...
, a publicly traded financial technology
Fintech, a portmanteau of "financial technology", refers to firms using new technology to compete with traditional financial methods in the delivery of financial services. Artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, and big data are r ...
company. On September 1, 2018, Spencer and McVey married in an outdoor ceremony in Vail, Colorado
Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the num ...
.
In 2018, People
A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
announced Spencer’s plans to leave her job as one of the co-anchors on ''Good Morning America'' to focus on her production company, DuffKat Media, and work on ''Good Morning America'' from behind the scenes in a lesser capacity.
In 2019, Spencer was the guest picker on College GameDay for the Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
vs. Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
game.
Television producer
Spencer was the creator and executive producer of the prime time
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
game show, '' It's Worth What?'', hosted by Cedric the Entertainer
Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), better known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He hosted BET's '' ComicView'' during the 1993–1994 season and '' Def Comedy Jam'' in 1995. He is ...
, which aired during the summer of 2011 on NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
. She created and produced two television shows based on her passions for interior designing, a one-hour special titled ''I Brake for Yard Sales'' that originally aired in April 2012 on HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...
and a flea market-themed series currently airing on Great American Country
Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies.
It was originally established in ...
called ''Flea Market Flip''.
Other work
Spencer's first book, ''I Brake for Yard Sales'', a guide on how to create high-end looking rooms using secondhand finds, was published and released in April 2012.
She replaced Brooke Burke-Charvet and co-hosted the 87th Miss America
Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...
pageant at the Boardwalk Hall
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose arena in Atlantic City in Atlantic County, New Jersey. It was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the Atlant ...
in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497. with Chris Harrison
Christopher Bryan Harrison (born July 26, 1971) is an American television and game show host, best known for his role as the host of the ABC reality television dating show '' The Bachelor'' from 2002 to 2021. He also hosted its spin-offs '' T ...
on September 15, 2013. She and Harrison co-hosted Miss America 2015
Miss America 2015, the 88th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Sunday, September 14, 2014. Miss America 2014, Nina Davuluri crowned the winner, Miss New York, Kira Kazantsev, making it the thir ...
on September 14, 2014.
Spencer's second book, titled ''Flea Market Fabulous: Designing Gorgeous Rooms with Vintage Treasures'', a guide on designing rooms and homes, was published and released on September 16, 2014.
Controversy
In August 2019, Spencer's comments about six-year-old Prince George of Cambridge
Prince George of Wales (George Alexander Louis; born 22 July 2013) is a member of the British royal family. He is the eldest child of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales. George is the eldest grandchild of King Charle ...
enjoying ballet classes (among other hobbies) were interpreted by some as offensive, causing public backlash. Spencer issued an Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
apology, saying, "I fully believe we should all be free to pursue our passions" and apologized on ''Good Morning America'' during an interview with three professional male dancers.
See also
* New Yorkers in journalism
New York City has been called the media capital of the world. Many journalists work in Manhattan, reporting about international, American, business, entertainment, and New York metropolitan area-related matters.
New Yorkers in journalism
A
...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Lara
American infotainers
People from Garden City, New York
People from Greenwich, Connecticut
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications alumni
American television journalists
1969 births
Living people
ABC News personalities
Beauty pageant hosts
Writers from New York (state)
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American women writers
American women television journalists
Garden City High School (New York) alumni