Joan Lunden | |
|---|---|
 Lunden in 2018 | |
| Born | Joan Elise Blunden (1950-09-19)September 19, 1950 (age 75) Fair Oaks, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | California State University, Sacramento |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 7 |
Joan Lunden (bornJoan Elise Blunden, September 19, 1950) is an American journalist, author, and television host. Lunden was the co-host ofABC'sGood Morning America from 1980 to 1997, and has authored over ten books. She has appeared on theBiography program andBiography Channel.
As of 2014[update], Lunden is a special correspondent forNBC'sToday. In 2021, Lunden became host of the public television programSecond Opinion.
Joan Elise Blunden was born inSacramento County, California, the daughter of Gladyce Lorraine (née Somervill) and Dr. Erle Murray Blunden.[1] Her father was the chief of staff at American River Hospital and an amateur pilot with his own airport.[2][3] She had a brother 8 months older than her named Jeff.[4]
In 1964, her father and Dr. Byron E. Hall, a San Francisco physician, died in a plane crash inMalibu Canyon, California.[3] They were returning from anAmerican Cancer Society state board of directors meeting in Los Angeles.[3]
Blunden graduated fromBella Vista High School inFair Oaks, California at the age of 16 in 1967.[5] She earned aLiberal Arts degree fromCalifornia State University, Sacramento.[6] Later she studied Spanish and anthropology at the formerMexico City campus ofUniversidad de Las Americas. She was a visiting instructor atMontclair State College in New Jersey, where she taught a course in broadcast journalism.[6]
In 1973, she began her broadcasting career working as a trainee at(Channel 3) KCRA-TV inSacramento, California.[7] Within two years she was the co-anchor of the daily noon television news program. She produced the noon news broadcast and hosted KCRA's television specials.[6]
In 1975, Blunden moved to New York City and she found an apartment with the help of her childhood friendJed Johnson and his longtime partnerAndy Warhol.[8][9][10] That year, she joinedNew York'sWABC-TVEyewitness News, at which time her name was changed to avoid being called "Blunder".[11] A year later, she became co-anchor on the weekend newscasts. Lunden joinedGMA in the fall of 1976 as a feature news/consumer reporter, and later became fill-in co-host when former co-hostSandy Hill left to work onABC's coverage of the1976 Winter Olympics.
Her popularity led to her quick promotion to co-host withDavid Hartman, the program's original host, in 1980. Later, she would spend the majority of her career hosting with ABC'sCharlie Gibson. She reported from 26 countries, covered four presidents, five Olympic Games, and two royal weddings. Her popularity on theGMA program from the 1970s through the 1990s allowed her to interviewU.S. Presidents andFirst LadiesGerald andBetty Ford,Jimmy andRosalynn Carter,Ronald andNancy Reagan,George andBarbara Bush,Bill andHillary Clinton, and alsoTexas GovernorGeorge W. Bush andLaura Bush prior to his election as president in 2000.[citation needed]
As the co-host ofGMA, Lunden traveled the world, covering historic events, such as the 50th anniversary ofVE Day (Victory in Europe) in 1995; the 50th anniversary ofD-Day; the1984 and1988Winter Olympic Games inSarajevo andCalgary, respectively; and the wedding ofPrince Charles andDiana, Princess of Wales. 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.[citation needed]
Lunden was known for her willingness to take risks in her role as host. She climbed and rappelledAlaska's famedMendenhall Glacier and bungee-jumped off a 143-foot bridge and paraglided off a 2,000-foot mountain during the program's highly rated trip toNew Zealand. She navigated the whitewater rapids of a Georgia river for aGMA show in 1994.[12]
While reporting on theTWA Flight 800 crash in 1996, Lunden spoke of her friendship with Jed Johnson who was a victim aboard the plane.[13] She shared a photo of Johnson and his partner Alan Wanzenberg, and expressed her condolences.[13] She referred to Wanzenberg as his domestic partner, which drew praise from Alan Klein, a spokesperson forGay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation because Wanzenberg had been referred to as Johnson's "business partner" in initial reports.[13] Klein said Lunden's actions were "life affirming" and partners of lesbians and gays are often ignored in news accounts of tragedies.[13]
Lunden leftGMA after 17 years as co-host with her last day being on September 5, 1997.
Lunden was a host on theA&E cable network programBehind 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'sBiography, and hosted the Newborn Channel's Parenting Minutes. She has also hostedTaking Care With Joan Lunden onRetirement Living TV. In 2014, Lunden returned to morning television as a special correspondent forNBC'sToday.
Her most recent television shows include hosting DirectTV's seriesHometown Heroes and the Emmy-winning specialAmerica's Invisible Children.[14] In 2021, Lunden took over as host of the public television programSecond Opinion.
Lunden also hostsHealth Corner, aLifetime series sponsored byWalgreens. She is currently the spokesperson forA Place for Mom, a national senior care referral service.[15]
She is also a public speaker in breast cancer awareness advocacy.[16][17]
Lunden has guest-starred on episodes ofMurphy Brown,Home Improvement andAll My Children. She also madecameo appearances in the filmsWhat About Bob?,Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home,Conspiracy Theory andThank You for Smoking.
Lunden has earned numerous honors and awards, including the Spirit of Achievement Award from theAlbert Einstein College of Medicine; 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 YorkAssociation for Women in Communications 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 forMothers Against Drunk Driving.
Lunden hosted ABC's broadcast of theRose Parade inPasadena, California, from 1989 to 1991, and from 1983 to 1996, she hosted the Walt Disney World Easter and Christmas Parades along withAlan Thicke andRegis Philbin.
In April 1991, Lunden was honored by New York Women in Communications with a Matrix Award for her "outstanding contributions to the broadcasting field." She also appeared on the cover ofWoman's Day in 2004.
Lunden is involved in various personal projects, such as her Camp Reveille, a summer weekend getaway for women of all ages inNaples, Maine.
Lunden is on the board of PassportMD, an online personal health record system that usesMicrosoft HealthVault, 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 annualWarrior Award at the 2016WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, April 2, 2016.[18]
Lunden was a close friend of interior designerJed Johnson.[19] They met when she was in the fourth grade in Fair Oaks and he was her first boyfriend.[20][2][9]
Lunden was married toMichael A. Krauss from 1978 until their divorce in 1992. She had three daughters with Krauss: Jamie Beryl Krauss, born July 4, 1980;[21] Lindsay Leigh Krauss;[1] and Sarah Emily Krauss.[1] Lundenconverted to Judaism when marrying Krauss.[22][23]
Lunden was expecting her first child, Jamie when she began working at Good Morning America in 1980. She had enough "bargaining power" to have child-care provisions written into her contract. After an 8-week maternity leave, ABC provided facilities on set for her to breastfeed Jamie on set and on location for several months postpartum in 1980. Lunden said: "I felt that no matter how much money I was making, if I couldn't be near my baby I couldn't work".[24] Lunden brought Jamie to work every day, until she was six months old. After that, Jamie stayed home with a housekeeper. Lunden said: "I feel pressured to run home to be with her. On the other hand, I have responsibilities to my job. There is always that tug-of-war between child and job" (p. 28).[24]
Lunden married the owner of Camp Takajo, Jeff Konigsberg on April 18, 2000.[25] 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.[26]
Lunden's brother Jeff Blunden died fromType 2 diabetes at age 57 in 2007.[4] She took care of her mother Gladyce Blunden, who had dementia and became an advocate for A Place for Mom, an assisted living referral service. Her mother died at the age of 94 in 2013.[4]
On June 24, 2014, Lunden revealed onGood Morning America that she had been diagnosed withbreast cancer.[27]
September 9 (some sources say 15 or 19), 1950 (some sources say 1951)
| Preceded by Sandy Hill | Good Morning America co-host August 28, 1980–September 5, 1997 withDavid Hartman from August 28, 1980 to February 20, 1987, andCharles Gibson from February 23, 1987 to September 5, 1997 | Succeeded by Lisa McRee |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
