Hoda Kotb isn't on your TV screen at 7:00 AM anymore. It feels weird, right? For nearly three decades, she was the personification of a warm hug through a cathode-ray tube (or an OLED, depending on your setup). But if you’re looking up a hoda kotb wiki style deep-dive today, you’re likely seeing a lot of "past tense" in her career descriptions.
On January 10, 2025, Hoda officially signed off from the Today show. She didn't leave because she was bored or because the ratings dipped. She left because of a "time pie." That’s her term. She realized her daughters, Haley Joy and Hope Catherine, needed a bigger slice of her life than the 3:00 AM alarm clocks allowed.
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The Oklahoma-to-Egypt-to-Virginia Pipeline
People often forget Hoda is a daughter of immigrants. Her parents, Sami and Abdel Kader Kotb, moved from Egypt to Norman, Oklahoma, which is where Hoda was born in 1964. She’s the middle child—sandwiched between her brother Adel and sister Hala.
Growing up was a bit of a whirlwind. The family lived in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Alexandria, Virginia. They even spent a year living in Nigeria. Honestly, Hoda’s childhood sounds like a masterclass in adaptability. She was the homecoming queen at Fort Hunt High School. Later, at Virginia Tech, she was the girl who would eventually return to give the keynote graduation speech and blast Metallica’s "Enter Sandman" over her iPod.
She often says her name is "the Jane Smith of the Nile." In Cairo, if you yell "Hoda!" in the street, ten people turn around. In the U.S., it made her stand out—sometimes in ways that were tough as a kid with "bushy hair" in a 99% white classroom. But that grit is exactly what fueled her 26-year run at NBC.
Why the "Joy 101" Pivot Matters
You’ve probably heard about her new venture, "Joy 101" (sometimes filed under "Joy With Hoda, LLC"). This isn't just some celebrity vanity project. It’s a wellness ecosystem.
When Hoda turned 60 in August 2024, something clicked. She realized she was "alive-ing" but not necessarily living the daily minutiae of her kids' lives. She wanted to see Haley sing at a 9:15 AM school assembly without checking her watch for a segment transition.
The "Joy 101" breakdown:
- The App: A digital hub for mindfulness and "affordable" wellness.
- The Retreats: In-person events, like the one she hosted in Austin, focused on "profound change."
- The Podcast: A space for the deep, soul-searching conversations she became famous for on Today.
She’s basically trying to democratize wellness. She often credits Maria Shriver for teaching her that exhaustion can't always be fixed with a Peloton ride or a piece of salmon. Sometimes, you just need space to breathe.
The Health Battle That Changed Everything
In 2007, Hoda faced a breast cancer diagnosis that would rewrite her DNA. She was 43. Ironically, she was hosting a show called Your Total Health at the time but hadn't had a mammogram.
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She underwent a mastectomy and TRAM flap reconstruction. The surgery lasted eight hours. The recovery was longer. The medication she took afterward, Tamoxifen, essentially shut down her reproductive system. It’s the reason she couldn't conceive and why she eventually turned to adoption.
She famously carries a four-word takeaway from that era: "You can't scare me." Once you've stared down a life-threatening illness, a live interview with a prickly world leader or a 3:00 AM wake-up call doesn't seem so daunting.
The Family Dynamic: Haley, Hope, and Joel
Hoda’s path to motherhood was anything but traditional. She adopted Haley Joy in 2017 and Hope Catherine in 2019. She was in her 50s. She’s been incredibly vocal about the fact that she "came to the party late," but that just makes her more present.
There was a major scare in 2023. Hope ended up in the ICU for two weeks. It was a terrifying, quiet period where Hoda vanished from the airwaves. In early 2025, Hoda finally shared the specific diagnosis: Hope has Type 1 Diabetes. It’s a "constant care" situation. Blood sugar monitors, middle-of-the-night checks, and careful meal planning. This was the real catalyst for her NBC exit. When your kid needs you at 2:00 AM for an insulin adjustment, you can’t be at a makeup chair at 5:00 AM pretending everything is perfect.
As for her personal life, Hoda and her ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman called off their engagement in early 2022. They’d been together eight years. Despite the split, they are still a unit when it comes to the girls. They even spent Christmas 2025 together in matching green pajamas. It’s a "new kind of family," as she puts it.
The Financial Reality of a "Wiki" Icon
Hoda’s net worth is estimated at roughly $30 million. During her peak years at Today, her salary was pegged between $8 million and $10 million annually.
While that's a massive amount of money, it was actually significantly less than what Matt Lauer was making before his termination in 2017. Hoda and Savannah Guthrie made history as the first all-female anchor duo to lead the show. They proved that the "morning news" formula didn't need a male lead to survive.
What’s Next for Hoda?
If you're looking for Hoda in 2026, don't check the news desk. Check the tennis courts or the local school run. She’s taken up tennis as a hobby. She walks her kids to school with a cup of coffee. She’s "working" from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM on her wellness company and then literally just... being a mom.
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Actionable Insights from Hoda’s Journey:
- The "Forward" Rule: During her cancer treatment, Hoda wrote "Forward" at the end of every journal entry. It’s a reminder that no matter how bad today is, you move toward the next thing.
- The Power of "No": Leaving a multi-million dollar contract at the "top of your game" is terrifying. But Hoda proved that "success" is a moving target. If your current version of success is costing you your peace, change the definition.
- Adoption is Heart-First: She tells her daughters, "You didn't come from Mommy’s tummy, you came from my heart." It’s a beautiful framing for any non-traditional family.
Hoda Kotb’s legacy isn't just about the interviews or the Olympics coverage. It’s about the fact that she was willing to walk away from the biggest job in television to be "up, up, up" in the middle of the night for a daughter who needed her. That’s the real story behind the wiki.