Savannah Guthrie marks 10th anniversary at 'Today' with funny throwback
Savannah Guthrie is celebrating 10 years on Today.
Monday's show centered around a tribute to the co-anchor, who marked a decade since her debut on the morning show. She joined for Today's third hour in 2011, after working as a White House correspondent and chief legal analyst for NBC News, and in 2012, she became co-anchor of the show after the departure of Ann Curry.
Early Monday, she shared an awkward-yet-adorable throwback from her childhood to lead off a series of old memories. In the classic shot, she's wearing an Izod shirt and green shorts, and — thanks to film — was snapped before she was fully posed with no digital retake option.
"No one was saying, 'This girl is gonna anchor the Today show one day," Guthrie, 49, captioned the photo. "For this and a million other reasons, I am marveling at the miraculous blessing I have been given. Thank you, @todayshow, for 10 thrilling, challenging, inspiring, and jaw dropping years. I could post many adventures (and maybe I just will!) but it’s the dear people here that I hold in my heart forever."
She thanked the Today team past and present— including Hoda Kotb, Al Roker, Carson Daly, Craig Melvin, Jenna Bush Hager, Willie Geist, Natalie Morales, Dylan Dreyer, Kathie Lee Gifford for their "love and friendship."
Matt Lauer, who was fired in 2017 amid #MeToo allegations, did not get a mention and there were no photo memories including him.
There were many comments about Guthrie's classic throwback as well as her anniversary. Daly's wife and show contributor Siri Pinter Daly wrote that the old photo "is the best, AS ARE YOU MY FRIEND!" Bush Hager posted, "What a wonderful turn of events when I sat next to you in hair and makeup. Happy 10th. Adore you." Dreyer said, "I’m so lucky to work with you and call you a friend! Remember being pregnant together??? Wild!!! Love you!!" And former co-anchor Katie Couric wrote, "Congrats Savannah on an incredible decade and for holding down the fort of an American treasure in good times and bad!"
Monday's show was full of tributes for what the show dubbed "Savannah-versary." It also included a surprise visit from her family — husband, Michael Feldman, and their two children, Vale, 6, and Charlie, 4 — who wheeled out a cake.
During the episode, colleagues of the attorney-turned-journalist remembered back to when she first joined the team, transitioning over from political reporting.
"I knew I'd like her, but I didn't know I'd love her," Kotb said. Melvin called her "the Swiss Army knife of the Peacock," the NBC network logo.
Guthrie was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times about her milestone and told the outlet, "I didn't think I'd last six months or a year, let alone 10 years," joining the show during a turbulent time as Curry was being pushed out amid differences with Lauer. "I really didn’t. I thought I'm some transitional person and I'm going to be the first casualty."
In that interview, she also spoke about Lauer's abrupt departure, which she and Kotb emotionally announced live in November 2017.
"It was really heartbreaking because I adored Matt," Guthrie said. "I loved working with him. But I knew the most important thing I could do was just stay focused and keep going. And having Hoda here — well, I think Hoda," who took over for Lauer, "saved the show, full stop."
The show's first all-female hosting team has kept ratings up. In the first quarter of the year, the show tied with Good Morning America for first place with 3.5 million viewers. The shows continue to be neck-and-neck.
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
