Matthew Todd Lauer, known as "Matt Lauer" is an American TV journalist who has been working with NBC since the last 24 years.
Early Life and Education
Matt was born on December 30, 1957, in New York to a Jewish father and his mother works as a boutique owner. His parents divorced when he was a young adult and his father died of cancer, at the age of 74, when Matt was 40 years old. Matt has a sibling, a sister whose name is April Lauer Stone.
Lauer attended Greenwich High School for his schooling. Although the NBC star joined Ohio University's School of Arts and Media studies, he dropped out in the year 1979 to pursue a career in journalism as he was provided with an internship opportunity.
He obtained the undergraduate degree from Ohio University after he joined the media industry, at the age of 39.
Career
Since early 1980's Matt has hosted various shows for WENW-TV, WNYW-TV's Made in New York, Fame Fortune, and Romance, and Talk of the Town. In 1989, he gained popularity as a host for the live talk show "9 Broadcast Plaza", which aired for around 2 years.
Matt received his big break from the media industry when he co-hosted Today in New York for NBC in 1992. The following year, he got another opportunity to host for Live and Five.
While his period as a host for Today, he replaced now-58-year-old Margaret Larson for a short interval but later he was chosen as a regular host for the show which he works for until present time.
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Source: NBC
Since 1997, he has been working as a contributing anchor for NBC's Dateline NBC - he has still been working for the same. In 2001, Lauer was provided with a wonderful opportunity to report for New York terrorist attack of 9/11 along with Katie Couric.
Furthermore, Matt has also co-hosted Sesame Beginnings: Exploring Together along with his daughter Romy. He also hosted for famous TV Channels such as HBO and Discovery.
In 2012, Matt signed a contract with NBC which stated that he would be paid a whopping sum of $25 million on a yearly basis.Matt has been a regular host of various summer as well as winter Olympics throughout many years. He also participated in the "Olympic Torch Relay" and also carried the torch in British Columbia.
He has interviewed many versatile personalities in his career including Prince William, Prince Harry, and Charlie Sheen etc.
Personal Life
Emmy Award-winning journalist, Matt has previously been married to TV producer Nancy Alspaugh from 1982 to 1988. In 1996, he was engaged to newscaster Kristen Genesis in 1996 for a short time period.
Later in 1998, he tied the knot with Dutch model Annette Roque, whom he had been dating since summer of 1997. The couple welcomed their first born child in 2001, a son named Jack. When Matt heard the news of the baby he had to leave the broadcast of Today, to join his wife and son.
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In 2003, their second child was born, a girl named Romy and in 2006, the couple another son named Thijs.
Matt's $36 million Mansion
Matt Lauer managed to purchase an extravagant $36.5 million 12-bed, 12-bath king-sized mansion in North Haven on June 2016 from American actor Richard Gere. It has been known that the house was on sale since 2013, initially, with a selling price of $65 million.
Matt Lauer and Ann Curry Controversy
In 2012, it was reported that Matt Lauer was responsible for the departure of the host of Today for 15 years, just because Matt didn’t like her.
Although Matt has denied any such accusations, the duo has not remained in contact with one another since then. It was later revealed that it was the decision of the executive producer of the show and that Matt had no influence in any of this.
Matt Lauer and Natalie Morales Controversy
Natalie Morales, who worked as a correspondent for NBC's Today in 2006, moved up as a co-anchor for the same in 2008. The co-workers have been rumored to have been dating - there was a time when his wife filed for a divorce too but it was settled down.
Things heated up when 44-year-old Natalie left Today and moved to work for Access Hollywood in August 2016. Both Natalie and Matt denied any allegations and have clearly pointed that everything that published by the media is false.Natalie Morales is also married to Joe Rhodes.
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Matt Lauer's Interview with Charlie Sheen
Matt Lauer's interview with Charlie Sheen came into the limelight when the former Two and a Half star deeply opened up that he was HIV positive on Matt Lauer's show, Today - Charlie Sheen One-on-One.
The star insisted on Today that he had not infected any other person and that he has had really bad experiences once he opened up about his condition.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ng5WSbZ9M08
Matt Lauer and Cocaine Controversy
In a recent turn of events, a magazine named "National Enquirer" published news about Matt Lauer and his involvement with cocaine use. The cover denotes a statement made by a drug seller when Matt was covering for 2016 Rio Olympic Games, "I sold cocaine to Matt Lauer".
All allegations proved to be false in present times, since there were no sufficient evidence. Also, it has been known that the same story had been published around 13 years back.
https://twitter.com/NatEnquirer/status/768502555840221184
Matt Lauer's Interview with Olympic Swimmer Ryan Lochte
In mid-August 2016, during Rio Olympics, 12-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte told NBC that he and his fellow American teammates were robbed right by a bunch who was dressed as police officers, right after the team was returning from a party.
Lochte also added that the gun was held at his head. But after various speculations, it was revealed by the police officials that the incident happened at a gas station when the swimmers vandalized the property and it was the security guard who pulled out the gun.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/tU9HtCnnIxE
In an interview with NBC, 32-year old Ryan told Matt Lauer that he over-exaggerated the story. When Matt Lauer compared the two versions of the story he explained to NBC, Ryan explained that he took full responsibility for the incident in Rio.