Joan Lunden (born Joan Elise Blunden on September 19, 1950) is an American journalist, an author, and a television host. Lunden was the co-host of

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 ...

'' from 1980 to 1997, and has authored eight books. She has appeared on the ''

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

'' program and

Biography Channel FYI (stylized as fyi,) is an American basic cable channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications (each owns 50%). The network features lifestyle pr ...

. , Lunden is a special correspondent for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''Today''. In 2021, Lunden took over as host of the public television program ''

Second Opinion A second opinion is an opinion on a matter disputed by two or more parties. Law In legal cases, a second opinion which contradicts the opinion of a jointly retained expert may be disregarded as not being impartial. Consumer rights In cas ...

''.

Early life

Lunden was born in

Sacramento County, California Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854. Sacramento County is the ...

, the daughter of Gladyce Lorraine (née Somervill) and Dr. Erle Murray Blunden, a physician. She earned a

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

degree from

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

. Later she studied Spanish and anthropology at the former

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

campus of Universidad de Las Americas. She was a visiting instructor at

Montclair State College Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

in New Jersey, where she taught a course in broadcast journalism. Her first news anchor job was at

KCRA-TV KCRA-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Sacramento, California, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside Stockton, California, Stockton-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate KQCA (channel 58). Both stations ...

. She began her broadcasting career in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, where she worked for Channel 3 (KCRA) and radio as co-anchor of the daily noon television news program. She produced the noon news broadcast and hosted KCRA's television specials.

Career

''Good Morning America''

In 1975, Lunden joined

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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 ...

Eyewitness News ''Eyewitness News'' is a style of television news presentation that emphasizes visual elements and action video, replacing the older "man-on-camera" newscast. History Pioneered by Westinghouse The earliest known use of the ''Eyewitness New ...

'', at which time her name was changed to avoid being called "Blunder". A year later, she became co-anchor on the weekend newscasts. Lunden joined ''GMA'' in the fall of 1976 as a feature news/consumer reporter, and later became fill-in co-host when former co-host Sandy Hill left to work on ABC's coverage of the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a ...

. Her popularity led to her quick promotion to co-host with

David Hartman David Hartman is the name of: *David Hartman (rabbi) (1931–2013), American-Israeli rabbi *David Hartman (TV personality) David Downs Hartman (born May 19, 1935) is an American journalist and media host who began his media career as an actor. He ...

, the program's original host, in 1980. Later, she would spend the majority of her career hosting with ABC's

Charlie Gibson Charles deWolf Gibson (born March 9, 1943) is an American broadcast television anchor, journalist and podcaster. Gibson was a host of '' Good Morning America'' from 1987 to 1998 and again from 1999 to 2006, and the anchor of ''World News with Ch ...

. She reported from 26 countries, covered four presidents, five Olympic Games, and two royal weddings. Her popularity on the ''GMA'' program from the 1970s through the 1990s allowed her to interview

U.S. Presidents The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term Term may refer to: * Terminology, or term, a noun or compound word used in a specific context, in pa ...

and

First Ladies First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the t ...

Gerald Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Iri ...

and

Betty Ford Elizabeth Anne Ford (; formerly Warren; April 8, 1918 – July 8, 2011) was the first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of President Gerald Ford. As first lady, she was active in social policy and set a precedent as a pol ...

, Jimmy and

Rosalynn Carter Eleanor Rosalynn Carter ( ; née Smith; born August 18, 1927) is an American writer and activist who served as First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981 as the wife of President Jimmy Carter. For decades, she has been a leading advocate ...

Ronald Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'',#H2, Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; #H1, Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English ''Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised ...

and

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in N ...

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

and

Barbara Bush Barbara Pierce Bush (June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of President George H. W. Bush, and the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She previously was ...

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

, and also

Texas Governor The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...

prior to his election as president in 2000. As the co-host of ''GMA'', Lunden traveled the world, covering historic events, such as the 50th anniversary of

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

(Victory in Europe) in 1995; the 50th anniversary of

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

; the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

and

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, respectively; and the wedding of

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

and

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

. She covered the administrations and inaugurations of three presidents — Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan. She was one of only three American journalists to interview Prince Charles during his 1983 visit to the United States. Lunden was known for her willingness to take risks in her role as host. She climbed and rappelled

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

's famed

Mendenhall Glacier Mendenhall Glacier (in Tlingit language “Sít”) is a glacier about long located in Mendenhall Valley, about from downtown Juneau in the southeast area of the U.S. state of Alaska. The glacier and surrounding landscape is protected as part ...

and bungee-jumped off a 143-foot bridge and paraglided off a 2,000-foot mountain during the program's highly rated trip to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. She navigated the whitewater rapids of a Georgia river for a ''GMA'' show in 1994. Lunden left ''GMA'' after 17 years as co-host with her last day being on September 5, 1997.

Hosting and other work

Lunden was a host on the A&E cable network program '' Behind Closed Doors'' (originally aired on ABC as occasional primetime specials; 1996–2001), an on-location, undercover reporter program. She also frequently guest hosted A&E's ''

''. Her most recent television shows include hosting DirectTV's series ''Hometown Heroes'' and the Emmy-winning special ''America's Invisible Children''. Lunden host
''Health Corner''
a Lifetime series sponsored by

Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, an ...

. She is currently the spokesperson for

A Place for Mom A Place for Mom, founded in 2000, is a privately held, for-profit senior care referral service headquartered in New York, New York. The company provides personal and professional assistance to families in the search of senior care options. Their ...

, a national senior care referral service.Joan Lunden: A Place for Mom's Caregiver and Senior Advocate
, ''

'', April 10, 2013. She is also a public speaker in breast cancer awareness advocacy.

Career timeline

* 1975–2000:

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 ...

** 1975–1980: WABC reporter ** 1976–1980: WABC anchor ** 1976–1980: ''

'' correspondent and fill-in anchor ** 1980–1997: ''Good Morning America'' co-anchor ** 1997–2000: ABC News correspondent * 2007–2014:

Retirement Living TV RLTV (previously known as Retirement Living TV) was an American cable television network. Launched on September 5, 2006, the channel targeted a demographic aged 50 years and older. Its topics and programs included health and wellness, finance, t ...

host/reporter * September 30, 2014 – present:

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

'' special correspondent

Activities

Lunden has earned numerous honors and awards, including the Spirit of Achievement Award from the

Albert Einstein College of Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a research-intensive medical school located in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein operates as an independent degree-granting institution as part of t ...

; National Women's Political Caucus Award; New Jersey Division of Civil Rights Award; Baylor University Outstanding Woman of the Year; and the YWCA Outstanding Woman's Award. The New York

Association for Women in Communications The Association for Women in Communications (AWC) is an American professional organization for women in the communications industry. History Theta Sigma Phi The Association for Women in Communications began in 1909 as Theta Sigma Phi (), an ho ...

honored Lunden with a Matrix Award for her outstanding contributions to the broadcasting field. She was voted "Career Mother of the Year" by the National Institute of Infant Services, and in 1982–1983, honoring her dedication to motherhood, she was voted "Mother of the Year" by the National Mother's Day Committee. She has been a national spokesperson for

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization in the United States, Canada and Brazil that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired drivi ...

. Lunden hosted ABC's broadcast of the

Rose Parade The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if N ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, from 1989 to 1991, and from 1983 to 1996, she hosted the Walt Disney World Easter and Christmas Parades along with

Alan Thicke Alan Thicke (born Alan Willis Jeffrey; March 1, 1947December 13, 2016) was a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is the father of singer Robin Thicke. In 2013, Thicke was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. Thicke was be ...

and

Regis Philbin Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, talk show host, game show host, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest working ma ...

. In April 1991, Lunden was honored by New York Women in Communications with a Matrix Award for her "outstanding contributions to the broadcasting field." Lunden appeared as herself in the films '' Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home'' and ''

Thank You for Smoking ''Thank You for Smoking'' is a 2005 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by Jason Reitman and starring Aaron Eckhart, based on the 1994 satirical novel of the same name by Christopher Buckley. It follows the efforts of Big ...

''. She also appeared on the cover of ''

Woman's Day ''Woman's Day'' is an American women's monthly magazine that covers such topics as homemaking, food, nutrition, physical fitness, physical attractiveness, and fashion. The print edition is one of the Seven Sisters magazines. The magazine was fir ...

'' in 2004. Lunden is involved in various personal projects, such as her Camp Reveille, a summer weekend getaway for women of all ages in

Naples, Maine Naples is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. The population was 3,925 at the 2020 census, and it is home to part of Sebago La ...

. Lunden is on the board of PassportMD, an online personal health record system that uses

Microsoft HealthVault Microsoft HealthVault (2007–2019) was a web-based personal health record created by Microsoft, in October 2007, to store and maintain health and fitness information. This website was for use by both individuals and healthcare professionals, and ...

, which allows families to maintain and organize their family health records. On March 28, 2016, it was announced that Lunden would be presented the WWE's second annual Warrior Award at the 2016

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously ind ...

Induction Ceremony on Saturday, April 2, 2016.

Personal life

Lunden was married to Michael A. Krauss from 1978 until their divorce in 1992. The couple has three daughters: Jamie Beryl Krauss, born July 4, 1980; Lindsay Leigh Krauss; and Sarah Emily Krauss. Lunden converted to Judaism when marrying Krauss. She married the owner of Camp Takajo, Jeff Konigsberg on April 18, 2000. They have four children, two sets of twins, Jack, Kim (born 2005), Kate and Max (born 2003), born with the help of a surrogate mother. Lunden has become a spokeswoman for surrogacy. On Tuesday, June 24, 2014, Lunden revealed on ''

'' that she had been diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

."Joan Lunden reveals breast cancer diagnosis on ''GMA''"
abcnews.go.com; accessed June 30, 2014.

Books

* ''Growing up Healthy: Protecting your child now through Adulthood'' — * ''Joan Lunden's Healthy Living'' — * ''Joan Lunden's Healthy Cooking'' — * ''Wake Up Calls: Making the Most Out of Every Day (Regardless of What Life Throws You)'' — * ''A Bend in the Road is not the End of the Road: 10 Positive Principles For Dealing With Change'' — * ''Mother's Minutes'' — * ''Your Newborn Baby'' — * ''Good Morning I'm Joan Lunden'' — * ''Why Did I Come into This Room?: A Candid Conversation about Aging'' —

Awards and honors

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(Class of 2016, Warrior Award) *2017 recipient of the

National Association of Broadcasters The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...

Distinguished Service Award.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lunden, Joan American television reporters and correspondents 1950 births Living people American women television journalists ABC News personalities 20th-century American Jews California State University, Sacramento alumni Television anchors from New York City Television anchors from Sacramento, California Writers from Sacramento, California Converts to Judaism WWE Warrior Award recipients 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American journalists People from Fair Oaks, California 21st-century American women 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American women