Joan Lunden
Encyclopedia
Joan Lunden is an American journalist, author and television host. She was the co-host of ABC
's Good Morning America
(GMA) from 1980 through 1997 and is the author of 8 books. Lunden has appeared on the Biography
program and Biography Channel
.
, the daughter of Gladyce Lorraine (née
Somervill) and Erle Murray Blunden, who was a physician. She has a liberal arts
degree from Sacramento State University. She also studied Spanish and anthropology at the former Mexico City
campus of Universidad de Las Americas
. She was a visiting instructor at Montclair State College in New Jersey, where she taught a course in broadcast journalism.
She began her broadcasting career in Sacramento
, California, where she worked for KCRA-TV
and Radio as co-anchor of the daily noon television news program. She also produced the noon news broadcast and hosted KCRA's television specials.
of the Winter Olympics
. Lunden's popularity with viewers led to her quick promotion to co-host with David Hartman
, the program's original host. Later she would spend the majority of her career hosting with ABC's Charlie Gibson. An Entertainment Weekly
national viewer poll named her "television's favorite morning anchor" during her years at GMA.The program lost more than a million daily viewers when Lunden retired from the morning news shift, according to TV Guide.
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 and First Ladies
Gerald
and Betty Ford
, Jimmy
and Rosalyn Carter, Ronald
and Nancy Reagan
, George
and Barbara Bush
, Bill
and Hillary Clinton, and also Texas Governor George
and Laura Bush
prior to the younger Bush's 2000 election as President.
In 1975, Lunden joined New York
's WABC-TV Eyewitness News and a year later became co-anchor on the weekend newscasts. As the co-host of GMA, Lunden traveled the world, covering historic events, such as the 50th anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe) in 1995; the 50th anniversary of D-Day
; the 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo
and Calgary
; and the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana, 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.
Lunden was known for her willingness to take risks in her role as host. She climbed and rappelled Alaska's famed Mendenhall Glacier
and bungee-jumped off a 143-foot bridge and parapented off a 2,000-foot mountain during the program's highly rated trip to New Zealand
. She also navigated the whitewater rapids of a Georgia river for a GMA show in 1994. She has been at the controls of an F-16 jet and flown with the United States Air Force
Thunderbirds, as well as flown in a T-34 Naval flight training plane. She is also a skilled horsewoman, jumping thoroughbred horses, and also has gone to bat with the Chicago Cubs
at spring training.
cable network program Behind Closed Doors (originally aired on ABC as occasional primetime specials) (1996-2001) which was an on-location, undercover reporter program; she also frequently guest hosted A&E's Biography
.
Lunden's most recent television shows include hosting DirectTV's series Hometown Heroes and the Emmy-winning special America’s Invisible Children. She is also the face of Murad's skincare line, Resurgence.
Lunden hosts Health Corner, a Lifetime series sponsored by Walgreens
.
.
Lunden hosted ABC's broadcast of the Tournament of Roses Parade
in Pasadena, California
, from 1989 to 1991, and hosted the Walt Disney World Easter and Christmas Parades with Regis Philbin
until the mid-90s.
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 a brief role in the 2006 film Thank You for Smoking. She also appeared on the cover of Woman'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 in Naples, Maine.
Lunden is on the board of PassportMD, an online personal health record system (that uses Microsoft HealthVault
) which allows families to maintain and organize their family health records.
from 1978 until their divorce
in 1992; the couple have three daughters: Jamie Beryl Krauss, born July 4, 1980; Lindsay Leigh Krauss (born 1983); and Sarah Emily Krauss (born 1987). She married Jeff Konigsberg on April 18, 2000; they have four children: two sets of twins, each consisting of one boy and one girl, Max and Kate, born on June 10, 2003, and Jack and Kimberly, born on March 1, 2005. The two sets of twins were born with the help of a surrogate mother, and Lunden has become a spokeswoman for surrogacy.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
(GMA) from 1980 through 1997 and is the author of 8 books. Lunden has appeared on the Biography
Biography (TV series)
Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987...
program and Biography Channel
The Biography Channel
The Biography Channel is an American digital cable television channel owned by A&E and based on the television series of the same name. A version of the channel also airs on ONO and Telefónica in Spain and on Sky Digital and cable television in the United Kingdom, a version of the channel also...
.
Early life
Lunden was born as Joan Elise Blunden in Fair Oaks, CaliforniaFair Oaks, California
Fair Oaks is a census-designated place in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 30,912 at the 2010 census, up from 28,008 at the 2000 census. Fair Oaks's zip code is 95628...
, the daughter of Gladyce Lorraine (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Somervill) and Erle Murray Blunden, who was a physician. She has a liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
degree from Sacramento State University. She also studied Spanish and anthropology at the former Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
campus of Universidad de Las Americas
Fundación Universidad de las Américas, Puebla
Universidad de las Américas Puebla , is a private university in Mexico. It is located in San Andrés Cholula, Puebla, a suburb of Puebla. The university is known for its programs in Arts and Humanities, Social sciences, Science and Engineering, and Business and Economics...
. She was a visiting instructor at Montclair State College in New Jersey, where she taught a course in broadcast journalism.
She began her broadcasting career in Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, California, where she worked for KCRA-TV
KCRA-TV
KCRA-TV, channel 3, is a television station in Sacramento, California, United States. KCRA-TV is owned by Hearst Television, a subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, and is an affiliate of the NBC television network...
and Radio as co-anchor of the daily noon television news program. She also produced the noon news broadcast and hosted KCRA's television specials.
Good Morning America
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 coverageOlympics on ABC
The Olympics on ABC was the branding for Olympic Games coverage which aired in the United States on the broadcast network ABC. ABC first televised the Winter Olympic Games in 1964. ABC first televised the Summer Olympic Games in 1968...
of the Winter Olympics
1976 Winter Olympics
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4–15, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria...
. Lunden's popularity with viewers led to her quick promotion to co-host with David Hartman
David Hartman (TV personality)
David Downs Hartman is an American journalist and media host who began his media career as an actor. He currently anchors and hosts documentary programs on cable TV's History and on PBS. Hartman is best known as the first host of ABC's Good Morning America, from 1975 to 1987. As an actor, he...
, the program's original host. Later she would spend the majority of her career hosting with ABC's Charlie Gibson. An Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
national viewer poll named her "television's favorite morning anchor" during her years at GMA.The program lost more than a million daily viewers when Lunden retired from the morning news shift, according to TV Guide.
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 and First Ladies
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
Gerald
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
and Betty Ford
Betty Ford
Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren Ford , better known as Betty Ford, was First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977 during the presidency of her husband Gerald Ford...
, Jimmy
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
and Rosalyn Carter, Ronald
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
, George
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
and Barbara Bush
Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...
, Bill
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and Hillary Clinton, and also Texas Governor George
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Laura Bush
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She has held a love of books and reading since childhood and her life and education have reflected that interest...
prior to the younger Bush's 2000 election as President.
In 1975, Lunden joined New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's WABC-TV Eyewitness News and a year later became co-anchor on the weekend newscasts. As the co-host of GMA, Lunden traveled the world, covering historic events, such as the 50th anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe) in 1995; the 50th anniversary of D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
; the 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
and Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
; and the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
. She covered the administrations and inaugurations of three presidents: Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. 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's famed Mendenhall Glacier
Mendenhall Glacier
Mendenhall Glacier is a glacier about long located in Mendenhall Valley, about from downtown Juneau in the southeast area of the U.S. state of Alaska....
and bungee-jumped off a 143-foot bridge and parapented off a 2,000-foot mountain during the program's highly rated trip to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. She also navigated the whitewater rapids of a Georgia river for a GMA show in 1994. She has been at the controls of an F-16 jet and flown with the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Thunderbirds, as well as flown in a T-34 Naval flight training plane. She is also a skilled horsewoman, jumping thoroughbred horses, and also has gone to bat with the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
at spring training.
Hosting and other work
She was a host on the A&EA&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
cable network program Behind Closed Doors (originally aired on ABC as occasional primetime specials) (1996-2001) which was an on-location, undercover reporter program; she also frequently guest hosted A&E's Biography
Biography (TV series)
Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987...
.
Lunden's most recent television shows include hosting DirectTV's series Hometown Heroes and the Emmy-winning special America’s Invisible Children. She is also the face of Murad's skincare line, Resurgence.
Lunden hosts Health Corner, a Lifetime series sponsored by Walgreens
Walgreens
Walgreen Co. , doing business as Walgreens , is the largest drugstore chain in the United States of America. As of August 31st, the company operates 8,210 locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1901, and has since expanded...
.
Activities and honors
Lunden's dedication to family and civic responsibility have earned her numerous honors and awards, including the Spirit of Achievement Award from the Albert Einstein College of Yeshiva; 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 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 1982-83, 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 DrivingMothers Against Drunk Driving
Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a non-profit organization in the United States that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and overall push for stricter alcohol policy...
.
Lunden hosted ABC's broadcast of the Tournament of Roses Parade
Tournament of Roses Parade
The Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day , produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual...
in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, from 1989 to 1991, and hosted the Walt Disney World Easter and Christmas Parades with Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...
until the mid-90s.
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 a brief role in the 2006 film Thank You for Smoking. She also appeared on the cover of Woman's Day
Woman's Day
Woman's Day is aimed at a female readership, covering such subjects as food, nutrition, fitness, beauty and fashion. The magazine edition is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines....
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.
Lunden is on the board of PassportMD, an online personal health record system (that uses Microsoft HealthVault
Microsoft HealthVault
Microsoft HealthVault is a web-based platform from Microsoft to store and maintain health and fitness information. Started in October 2007, the website is accessible at and addresses both and . In June 2010, Microsoft HealthVault was launched in the UK, the website is accessible at - Components...
) which allows families to maintain and organize their family health records.
Personal life
Lunden was married to Michael A. KraussMichael A. Krauss
Michael A. Krauss is a television producer, a packager, and a radio interviewer. He is also an experienced company president having headed numerous compaines including Michael Krauss Productions, Make It Happen Entertainment and Broadcasting, and Group M Productions. He is also a very experienced...
from 1978 until their divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
in 1992; the couple have three daughters: Jamie Beryl Krauss, born July 4, 1980; Lindsay Leigh Krauss (born 1983); and Sarah Emily Krauss (born 1987). She married Jeff Konigsberg on April 18, 2000; they have four children: two sets of twins, each consisting of one boy and one girl, Max and Kate, born on June 10, 2003, and Jack and Kimberly, born on March 1, 2005. The two sets of twins were born with the help of a surrogate mother, and Lunden has become a spokeswoman for surrogacy.
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) - ISBN 0-0713-6126-X
- A Bend in the Road is not the End of the Road: 10 Positive Principles For Dealing With Change - ISBN 0-6881-6083-2
- Mother's Minutes
- Your Newborn Baby
- Good Morning I'm Joan Lunden
- Exercise Video: Workout America