Nancy O'Dell (born Nancy Evelyn Humphries; 1966) is an American television host and entertainment journalist. She served as co-anchor of the syndicated entertainment news show ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...

'' from January 3, 2011, to August 2, 2019.

Early life

O'Dell was born in 1966 in

Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. Known as the Sumter Metropolitan Statistical Area, the namesake county adjoins Clarendon and Lee to form the core of Sumter-Lee-Clarendon Tri-county (o ...

, and moved to

Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

as an infant. She has one sister. After her 1984 graduation from the now-defunct Coastal Academy High School, she graduated with a ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' bachelor's degree in marketing from

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

in 1990. At Clemson, O'Dell joined

Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than 260,000 women, with 140 collegiate chapters in the United States a ...

. She won the

Miss South Carolina The Miss South Carolina competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of South Carolina in the Miss America pageant. The pageant was first held in Myrtle Beach and moved to Greenville starting in 1958 and remained in ...

pageant in 1987 and represented the state at

Miss America 1988 Miss America 1988, the 61st Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 19, 1987, on NBC Network. Pageant winner Kaye Lani Rae Rafko of Michigan became a registered nurse, and has done many ...

, where she won a preliminary swimsuit award. In 1990, in the

Miss South Carolina USA The Miss South Carolina USA competition, previously known as Miss South Carolina Universe, is the pageant that selects the representative for the state South Carolina in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. The ...

pageant, she finished first runner-up to

Gina Tolleson Gina Marie Tolleson (born March 26, 1969) is an American model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss World America, Miss World America 1990 and also Miss World 1990. Miss World Gina won the title of Miss South Carolina USA 1990 and was the first ...

, who became the first runner-up in

Miss USA 1990 Miss USA 1990 was the 39th Miss USA pageant, televised live from the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas on March 2, 1990. At the conclusion of the final competition, Carole Gist of Michigan was crowned by outgoing titleholder Gretc ...

before winning

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Miss Int ...

that year.

Career

Early career

O'Dell began her broadcasting career as a reporter and anchor at

WPDE-TV WPDE-TV (channel 15) is a television station licensed to Florence, South Carolina, United States, serving the Pee Dee and Grand Strand regions of South Carolina and affiliated with ABC and The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which al ...

in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She later worked as morning news anchor and crime reporter at

WCBD-TV WCBD-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station has studios on West Coleman Boulevard ( SC 703) in Mount Pleasant, and its t ...

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. While there, her reports on the lenient police approach to DUI cases led to a State Law Enforcement Division investigation that resulted in authorities issuing more stringent directive for such cases. She was honored by the Associated Press with the Best Report of the Year Award (all media, South Carolina). In 1993, she joined NBC's

WTVJ WTVJ (channel 6) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Fort Lauderdale–licensed WSCV (ch ...

in Miami, co-anchoring the 5:30 pm news with

Jackie Nespral Jackie Nespral (born April 21, 1966) is an American television anchor for WTVJ, the NBC owned and operated station in Miami. Early years and education Nespral was born in Florida. both her parents are Cuban. She grew up in the Little Havana ar ...

. O'Dell left that station in 1995 to move to Las Vegas. While there she worked as an entertainment reporter for the nationally syndicated tabloid show ''

A Current Affair ''A Current Affair'' may refer to: * ''A Current Affair'' (Australian TV program), 1971–present Australian current affairs program that airs on Nine Network * ''A Current Affair'' (American TV program), a 1986–1998 American television news ...

'' until the show ended in 1996.

''Access Hollywood'' (1996–2009)

O'Dell joined the entertainment news program ''

Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', formerly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created ...

'' when the program debuted in 1996. In addition to her work as ''Access Hollywood''s lead anchor, O'Dell contributed to NBC News' ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' and ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' is a weekly American television news magazine/reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasion ...

''. She covered such ceremonies as the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, and Golden Globe Awards, as well as co-hosting a number of pre-shows and arrivals for the Emmys and

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

. O'Dell co-hosted the

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...

and

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

competitions in 2004 and 2005. She co-hosted the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade on WNBC from 2004 to 2006. She co-hosted the Miss USA 2006 pageant with

Drew Lachey Andrew John Lachey (born August 8, 1976) is an American singer and actor. He is known as a member of 98 Degrees, the winner of the second season of ''Dancing with the Stars'', and the younger brother of Nick Lachey. Early years Drew Lachey was ...

, the Miss Universe 2006 pageant with

Carlos Ponce Carlos Armando Ponce Freyre Jr. (born September 4, 1972) is a Puerto Rican actor, musician, model, and television personality. Ponce began his acting career by participating in Spanish language soap operas for Televisa and Telemundo. Ponce contin ...

, and the Miss USA 2007 pageant with

Tim Vincent Tim Vincent (born Timothy Russell Walker; 4 November 1972) is a Welsh actor and television presenter. He appeared on the children's programme ''Blue Peter'' between 1993 and 1997 and has presented several Miss World contests. For several years, ...

. O'Dell appeared in minor roles in the television series ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcast ...

'' ( season 1 finale (1999) and season 5 premiere (2002). She guest starred in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' episode "

Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder" is the sixth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 14, 1999. In the episode, Homer becomes ...

" (1999), voicing herself. She also portrayed herself in ''

Scream 2 ''Scream 2'' is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Jerry O'Connell, Elise Neal, Tim ...

'' (1997), ''

Scream 3 ''Scream 3'' is a 2000 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Ehren Kruger. It stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Parker Posey, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, Lance Henriksen, Matt Keeslar, Jenny McCarthy ...

'' (2000), and ''

Scream 4 ''Scream 4'' (stylized as ''SCRE4M'') is a 2011 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. Produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and distributed by Dimension Films, it is the fourth installment in the ''Scream ...

'' (2011) and served as host and consulting producer of the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

talent competition ''

Nashville Star ''Nashville Star'' is an American reality television singing competition program that aired for six seasons, from 2003 to 2008. Its first five seasons aired on USA Network, while the last season aired on NBC. Its five seasons on USA made it the l ...

'' for its first two seasons. On January 13, 2008, after the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards were canceled as a result of the

2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike From November 5, 2007, to February 12, 2008, all 12,000 film and television screenwriters of the American labor unions Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) went on strike. The Writers Guild of America ...

, she co-hosted NBC's ''65th Annual Golden Globe Awards Winners Special'' with ''Access Hollywood'' co-anchor Billy Bush. In 2009, O'Dell hosted NBC's pre-show for the 66th Annual

with

Tiki Barber Atiim Kiambu "Tiki" Barber (; born April 7, 1975) is an American former football running back who played for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the University of Virginia ...

and

Brooke Burke Brooke Lisa Burke (born September 8, 1971) is an American television personality, fitness personality, author, actress, and businesswoman. She is known for hosting the E! Network travel show ''Wild On!'' (1999–2002), CBS' ''Rock Star'' (20 ...

. She portrayed herself in the ''

Hannah Montana ''Hannah Montana'' is an American teen sitcom created by Michael Poryes, Rich Correll and Barry O'Brien that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between March2006 and January2011. The series centers on Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus), a ...

'' season three episode "Cheat It". She also appeared on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

sitcom ''

Brothers A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

'', and in the same year she and

Maria Menounos Maria Menounos (, gr, Μαρία Μενούνος ; born June 8, 1978) is an American journalist, television presenter and actress. She has hosted ''Extra'' and ''E! News''; she was a TV correspondent for ''Today'', ''Access Hollywood'', and co- ...

guest co-hosted ''

WWE Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television show, television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET on the USA Networ ...

'' on October 12. O'Dell was to participate in the eighth season of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'', paired with professional dancer

Tony Dovolani Driton Dovolani (born July 17, 1973), commonly known as Tony Dovolani is an Albanian-American professional ballroom dancer, instructor and judge. He is known for his involvement in the American version of ''Dancing with the Stars'' on ABC. Dovola ...

, but had to withdraw before the season started after tearing her

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...

during training; her replacement was

Melissa Rycroft Melissa Katherine Rycroft-Strickland (born March 11, 1983) is an American television personality, host, and dancer. She is a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and TV Personality. She has participated as a bachelorette on the thirteenth season of ...

. O'Dell underwent

arthroscopic surgery Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the ...

to repair it on March 20, 2009. O'Dell's departure from ''Access Hollywood'' was announced in December 2009. She left the show with two years left on her contract. On June 22, 2010, O'Dell hosted the ''Nashville Rising'' concert to provide flood relief for

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

residents, after the floods in May of that year. She shared hosting duties with

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

and

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

''Entertainment Tonight'' (2011–2019)

On January 3, 2011, O'Dell joined ''

'' as a special correspondent, and she succeeded

Mary Hart Mary Hart (born Mary Johanna Harum; November 8, 1950) is an American television personality and actress. She was the long-running host (1982–2011) of the syndicated gossip and entertainment round-up television program '' Entertainment Tonight' ...

as co-anchor after Hart left the show in May 2011. An avid scrapbooker, in 2010 O'Dell partnered with Creative Memories to release her first collection of scrapbooking supplies, the Hummingbird Collection, and her second book, ''Full of Love: Mom-to-mom Advice for Enriching Families with Simple Photo Albums and Scrapbooking''. On August 2, 2019, O'Dell announced on-air that she would be leaving ''Entertainment Tonight'' after that day's broadcast. She also paid respects to her manager who recently died.

Personal life

O'Dell was married to Dr. Richard O'Dell from September 30, 1995, to November 4, 2004. In 2005, she married Keith Zubchevich. O'Dell gave birth to their daughter, Ashby Grace, in June 2007, at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

in Los Angeles. She said unexpected and surprising changes happened to her body during the pregnancy that prompted her to write a parenting book, ''Full of Life''. She is the

Muscular Dystrophy Association The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is an American 501(c)(3) umbrella organization that works to support people with neuromuscular diseases. Founded in 1950 by Paul Cohen, who lived with muscular dystrophy, it works to combat neuromuscular d ...

's National

ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

Ambassador. In September 2016, O'Dell filed for legal separation from Zubchevich and in November 2017, they filed for divorce. In May 2013, O'Dell received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from

. At the ceremony, she spoke to the graduates, encouraging them to never give up in pursuing their dreams: "I decided that I would rather fail doing something I enjoyed than be successful doing something that would just be a grind ...my wish for all of you is that you will do the same. Be who you are because you'll always be right."

References

External links

*
Nancy O'Dell
at ''Access Hollywood''
Nancy O'Dell
at ''Miss South Carolina'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Odell, Nancy 1966 births Living people American infotainers American television news anchors American women television journalists Clemson University alumni Journalists from South Carolina Miss America 1988 delegates Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners People from Sumter, South Carolina People from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Beauty pageant hosts South Carolina television anchors 21st-century American women