Karl Stefanovic ( sr-Cyrl, Карл Стефановић; born 12 August 1974), also spelt Karl Stefanović, is an Australian

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a " television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...

and journalist for the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

. Stefanovic is currently a co-host of the

's breakfast program ''

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 ...

'' and presents for ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique st ...

''.

Career

Early life

Stefanovic studied journalism at university, but after earning his degree could not secure a cadetship. At his father's suggestion, he auditioned for NIDA, but did not make the final cut despite making it through a few rounds of auditions. Although he was encouraged to re-apply for the following year, he took up a job offer from WIN Television in

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of t ...

instead. In 1994, he began working for WIN in

and

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

as a cadet reporter. In 1996, Stefanovic took up a position with

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the ...

as a reporter for '' One Network News'' in New Zealand. In 1998, Stefanovic returned to Australia with a job reporting and presenting for '' Ten News'' in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, and also acted as a fill-in news presenter for Ron Wilson in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

Nine Network

In 2000, Stefanovic moved to the

as a reporter and back-up presenter for ''

Nine News ''Nine News'' (stylised ''9News'') is the national news service of the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is the hour-long 6:00 pm state bulletin, produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, ...

'' in Brisbane. He received a Queensland Media Award for Best News Coverage for his report on the Childers backpacker hostel fire in 2000. His reports on the 2001 Warragamba bushfires from Sussex Inlet in January 2002 led to his appointment to Nine's Sydney newsroom, and he was involved in the coverage of the

2003 Canberra bushfires The 2003 Canberra bushfires caused severe damage to the suburbs and outer areas of Canberra, the capital city of Australia, during 18–22 January 2003. Almost 70% of the Australian Capital Territory's (ACT) pastures, pine plantations, and nat ...

. In February 2005, Stefanovic replaced ''

'' host Steve Liebmann. He has been a fill-in host on '' A Current Affair'' for

Tracy Grimshaw Tracy Grimshaw (born 3 June 1960) is an Australian journalist and television presenter. She was the host of '' A Current Affair'' between 2006–2022, and was a co-host of ''Today'' between 1996–2005. Career Grimshaw's career began in 1981 w ...

. In 2006, he participated in the Nine Network reality television show ''

Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice ''Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice'' was an Australian reality television series which was based on the original British version, ''Dancing on Ice''. The series premiered on the Nine Network on Tuesday, 11 July 2006 at , and involved celebriti ...

''. He eventually made it to the grand final of the show, but was beaten by Jake Wall by a viewer poll. In 2008, Stefanovic took over as host of Nine Network's '' Carols by Candlelight'' with Lisa Wilkinson replacing longtime host Ray Martin. He continued to host ''Carols by Candlelight'' until 2012, when he was replaced by David Campbell. In 2011, along with his hosting role at ''Today'', Stefanovic was a contributing reporter on ''

''. He also hosted a Sunday evening edition of '' A Current Affair'' (''ACA Sunday''). In December 2011, he was a crew member aboard racing supermaxi yacht Investec LOYAL when it won line honours in the 2011 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Stefanovic hosted the Nine Network's evening reports on the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. In December 2013, he was a crew member aboard supermaxi yacht Perpetual Loyal in the 2013 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, with his other celebrity crew members, Larry Emdur,

Guillaume Brahimi Guillaume Brahimi (born 11 August 1967 in Paris, France) is a French-born chef based in Sydney, Australia. He is currently head chef of Bistro Guillaume Sydney. Background French-born Guillaume Brahimi is one of Australia's most popular and accla ...

Tom Slingsby Tom Slingsby (born 5 September 1984) is a successful Australian competitive sailor. Slingsby's first successes came sailing Laser dinghys, where he won three consecutive world championships and the 2012 Olympic gold medal. Slingsby was the st ...

Phil Waugh Phillip Waugh (born 22 September 1979) is a retired Australian rugby union footballer who played 136 matches in Super Rugby for the NSW Waratahs, and in 79 Test matches for the Wallabies. His usual position was openside flanker. Rugby career ...

and Jude Bolton. In October 2015, Stefanovic hosted television the panel show '' The Verdict'' on the Nine Network. The weekly show mixed elements of successful programs '' The Project'' and '' Q&A'' but courted controversy with its line-up of panelists. In July 2017, Stefanvoic began hosting '' This Time Next Year'' on the Nine Network. In December 2018, it was announced that Stefanovic would not be returning as a co-host of ''

'' in 2019. In November 2019, the

announced that Stefanovic would be returning to ''

'' as co-host from January 2020 alongside '' Weekend Today'' co-host and ''

'' reporter Allison Langdon. In June 2020, Stefanovic celebrated 20 years with the

2GB

In June 2019, it was announced that Stefanovic would become a regular contributor on

2GB 2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by parent company Nine Radio, a division of Nine Entertainment Co., who also own sister station 2UE. 2GB broadcasts on 873 kHz, AM. In 2010, 2GB held 14.7% of the total radio ra ...

Personal life

Stefanovic was born in

Darlinghurst, New South Wales Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Syd ...

, to a Serbian-German father and an Australian mother. His younger brother,

Peter Stefanovic Peter Stefanovic ( sr-Cyrl, Петар Стефановић) is an Australian journalist, reporter and television presenter. Stefanovic is currently a co-host of ''First Edition'' on Sky News Australia. He has previously been a co-host of ''We ...

, is a correspondent with ''60 Minutes''. He was educated at St Augustines College (Cairns), the Anglican Church Grammar School and the

Queensland University of Technology Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The unive ...

, where he graduated with a degree in journalism in 1994. Stefanovic met journalist Cassandra Thorburn at a party in Rockhampton in 1995 and later married; they have three children together. In September 2016, it was revealed that Stefanovic had separated from his wife after 21 years; their divorce was finalised in October 2017. In February 2018, Stefanovic made public his engagement to Jasmine Yarbrough. He married Yarbrough in December 2018 at a ceremony in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. They have one child together.

Controversy

In July 2016, Stefanovic attracted criticism from the

LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and so ...

after using the word "tranny" and making a number of jokes deemed transphobic during a segment on ''

''. On 29 July 2016, a day after the segment, he made a public apology on the show, stating that "I was an ignorant tool" and stated that he was informed of how offensive the term was considered. He was later nominated for an ACON LGBTI award for his honest apology, and has gone on to be an outspoken advocate of the queer community. In 2017, Stefanovic spoke out against the conservative government putting obstacles in the way of passing

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

legislation, condemning the government for turning the issue into a “political football”. He also debated prominent

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

minister Michael Jensen on the topic during a live interview, arguing for a ‘yes’ vote on the then-upcoming marriage equality

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

Television shows and film appearances

Awards

At the 2011

Logie Awards The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

, Stefanovic won two awards - the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality, and the Silver Logie for Most Popular Presenter.

Suit incident

On 15 November 2014, Stefanovic revealed in an interview with

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased '' The Sydney Morning Hera ...

that he had been wearing the same suit on-air every day for a year, "except for a couple of times because of circumstance", as what he said was an experiment in sexism. He said that, while his female colleagues receive regular criticism for whatever they wear, nobody noticed his outfit the whole time. He did, however, vary his ties and shirts more regularly than his suit.

References

External links

Karl Stefanovic profile at ''TODAY''

Karl Stefanovic Twitter
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stefanovic, Karl Australian television presenters Living people 1974 births Queensland University of Technology alumni Australian people of German descent Australian people of Serbian descent People educated at Anglican Church Grammar School Australian expatriates in New Zealand Gold Logie winners People from Redland City