The Complete Transformation Of Hoda Kotb

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When we think of television personalities and broadcast journalists who have left an impact on society, Hoda Kotb is undeniably one of the first that comes to mind. Born and raised by Egyptian parents in Oklahoma in the 1960s, Kotb's life journey has been an incredibly inspirational one. "When you're a kid, you just want to fit in and it wasn't easy for me. I remember cringing during school attendance roll call," she admitted to "Today," adding, "The other names were, like, Mark Kauffman and Chris Kennedy. They would stop at my name and go, 'We've got a typo.' I can physically feel the angst."

Today, Kotb is known as a talented journalist, a cancer survivor, a role model for authenticity, and most of all, a loving mother. Looking back on her transformation over the years, it's clear that both difficult and happy moments in her life shaped Kotb's attitude toward her future, and after taking a trip down memory lane and exploring the changes she has gone through, we can without any doubt say that if Hoda Kotb didn't exist, we'd have to invent her!

While Hoda Kotb kicked off her journalist career in 1986 with jobs in Mississippi, Illinois, Florida, and Louisiana (and even Egypt, where her parents are from), it wasn't until 1998 that she caught nationwide attention. It was then that Kotb joined NBC as a correspondent for their news program "Dateline." With her contagious energy and impeccable journalistic skills, it was quickly clear that Kotb would remain in the spotlight for a while.

By the early aughts, Kotb was in her mid-to-late 30s, and her red-carpet fashion was often a mix of popular trends of the time. While the broadcast journalist always looked put together and it was clear that she respected fashion, it was also never of major importance to her — something Kotb would open up about in the years to come. 

In 2005, Kotb's personal life changed as the journalist married tennis coach Burzis Kanga. In 2025, she revealed the thought process behind the couple's rushed decision. "We let the idea that we should be married by now influence us," she wrote in her memoir "Jump and Find Joy: Embracing Change in Every Season of Life" (via Parade). "So, instead of us taking the opportunity to part ways and stay solo, he came out to visit and proposed during a Central Park horse ride ... and I said yes."

Between 2006 and 2008, Hoda Kotb's life went through numerous changes. In 2007, the journalist became a co-host for the "Today" show, an NBC morning-to-afternoon show that was a pioneer of its genre. That naturally led to more red-carpet moments, which saw the anchor explore sophisticated pieces in block colors (most often black and white). While her career was undeniably thriving, the same couldn't be said for the star's private life.

In 2007, Kotb was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she decided to forgo chemotherapy and go for a mastectomy immediately. While the period was undeniably difficult for her and those around her, Kotb decided not to let the cancer write her story, and soon after her recovery, she became a major spokesperson for cancer awareness. "This is an incredible platform to be able to help people," she said in 2008 (via "Today"). " ... no matter what you've been through, someone has been through worse, and it's our responsibility as human beings to help people." The journalist also admitted that the people she has come across while working as a journalist have given her a lot of hope. After her battle with cancer, Kotb was ready to change her life, and the first step was getting divorced from Burzis Kanga — the two officially parted ways in 2008.

Just a couple of years into her time on "Today," it became clear just how much of a great role model Hoda Kotb was for women across the globe. As a cancer survivor, she was a symbol of strength and defiance, and as a woman, she showed all of us just how important it is to fight for what you want. The journalist knew what she wanted, and she went for it.

"At the time I finished my surgery [for breast cancer], NBC was starting up the fourth hour of 'Today,'" she revealed to Coping Magazine. "And I did something I never dreamt I would ever do — go to the big boss and ask for the job." In 2010, Kotb released her autobiography "Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee," sharing personal insights and career decisions in it.

While Kotb had been on our television for a while at this point, the host remained loyal to her signature look. Shoulder-length hair in a warm, dark-blond color suited her skin perfectly, and Kotb's fashion was always chic, simple, and timeless. In fact, now that we think of it, Kotb's signature hair color of the time has had its moment recently with Zendaya rocking honey-blond hair in spring 2024.

While Hoda Kotb's career has been incredibly successful in the noughties, we hadn't heard much about her love life following her divorce from Burzis Kanga in 2008. Until 2013, that is. That year, the television host began dating Joel Schiffman (who worked in finance); however, they kept their romance private for a couple of years.

In the early 2010s, Hoda's style became a tad more adventurous, with the television personality occasionally embracing unexpected cuts and colors. Of course, none of the changes were dramatic, as Kotb's approach to style always prioritized comfort. The broadcast journalist was okay with experimenting a tad here and there, as long as she still felt comfortable in whatever the fashion choice was. While fashion is such a big part of the entertainment industry — and Hoda was slowly but surely becoming a part of it — the journalist always knew what her priorities were, and being up to date with trends was definitely not on that list.

In 2012, she also opened up about her relationship with her mother, Sameha "Sami" Kotb. "To this day, my mom's unsinkable spirit is an inspiration to me," Hoda revealed to "Today," adding, "I can't remember a time when my mom didn't work. She has forever been on the move: a go-getter."

In 2014, Hoda Kotb opened up about how her body image changed after surviving cancer. The host explained that she was initially incredibly happy that the cancer was gone, saying to "Today," "You are so grateful, and you think, 'I don't care what my body looks like, I am just happy to be here.'" However, she admitted that she also struggled with body acceptance, even though she was grateful to be healthy. Kotb said there was "a window of time where you don't even want to look at yourself. It's jarring." Opening up about this undoubtedly made Kotb even more relatable, as the broadcast journalist admitted that the feeling of gratefulness and happiness always prevails. "When your body heals, you start to feel better. You realize that you don't care about the scars," she shared. "You are just happy to have this body, a healthy body, no matter the lumps and bumps and problems."

In 2013 and 2014, Hoda Kotb looked contagiously happy, and anything she'd put on looked fabulous on her. While she still wore clothes that fit in with her style, we did notice edgier materials and a hemline that often hit above her knees, showing off a bit more skin. It was as if the television personality used fashion to show just how much she appreciated her body, what it had been through, and what it was capable of — and that is definitely one of the best approaches to fashion we at Glam have ever seen.

For Hoda Kotb, family is everything, and anyone who has been keeping up with her on social media knows how close she is with her mother, Sami Kotb. In fact, Hoda revealed that her mother is kind of her personal stylist, as she often sends her outfits that the journalist ends up wearing on broadcast.

"The dresses in my dressing room, she finds them in a store, puts them in a box and sends them to my apartment in New York. I take the box to work without opening it. I hand it to the wardrobe people. They ask, "Have you tried it on?" No! I don't need to," Hoda explained to "Today" in 2016. "She knows my body type and she knows what works. How many people have their mom sending them dresses that they don't even ever have to try on?! She has impeccable, crazy taste. Unlike her daughter — me!" In the mid-2010s, Sami was undeniably becoming bolder with the fashion choices she was suggesting to her daughter, as we got to see Hoda in funky patterns and pleather materials — something the television personality hadn't been experimenting with much until then.

In 2017, Hoda Kotb turned 53, and she decided it was the right time to become a mother. Hoda adopted her newborn daughter Haley Joy that year, and it was instantly clear how happy motherhood has made the TV personality. Opening up about her choice to adopt at an age that is traditionally considered too old, Hoda revealed that being a mother doesn't come with age restrictions. "At 30, I was panicking about not being married and not having kids," she recalled to "Today." "Then I did get married and it didn't work. I got breast cancer. Everything was falling apart. And you're thinking to yourself, my windows are closing left and right — I don't know what to do or where to go."

Proving that life has no strict timeline one should follow, Hoda found her biggest blessing yet in her 50s. "I said once to somebody, can you believe I'm 52 and I have a baby? She said, 'That baby's right on time,'" the journalist shared. "Now, I've started thinking everything's right on time. You have to put effort into your life but it happens when it happens." While there are certainly numerous things women should know about their biological clock, Hoda is living proof that adopting a baby in your 50s can be a wonderful decision. Hoda always exuded a positive and contagious energy; there's no denying that after becoming a mother, she was simply glowing. And of course, her fashion choices always enhanced her happiness, which we believe was still the work of baby Haley's grandmother, Sami Kotb.

One thing that always draws people to Hoda Kotb is her unwavering willingness to change and improve. The broadcast journalist hasn't only been working on her career for the decades she has been in the spotlight, but she has also worked on herself. In 2018, Kotb opened up about the daily rituals she doesn't skip that make her feel better and help her become a better person.

"I am a believer of — the things in the forefront of your mind should be the good things," she told "Today" in 2018. "So, in the morning, I try to do a little grateful journal. I'll write three things I'm grateful for... Once you have your cup of coffee, and before you dive into your day, you feel like your good stuff's on the front row." Similarly, she stressed the importance of surrounding yourself with good people. "I've always believed you're the sum total of the five people you spend the most time with," the television personality stated. "If you're with people who are always complaining ... or people who are always sarcastic or negative all the time, maybe reassess. Because that becomes you, whether you like it or not." Of course, figuring out if the people in your life deserve a place in it can be difficult, which is why you should definitely check out our list of 20 types of people to surround yourself with for strong relationships and friendships!

While Hoda Kotb had consistent success in her career, the late 2010s were a period in which she experienced numerous joys in her private life. In 2019, the NBC star not only adopted her second daughter, newborn Hope Catherine, but she also got engaged to her longtime boyfriend Joel Schiffman. "If someone had said to me when I was a little girl, 'Hey Hoda... when you're 49 or 50, you're going to meet the guy you're going to fall in love with, and you're going to have children at 55 and 56,' I would have been like, 'What?," the star revealed to People in 2019.

Speaking of fashion, she told Glamour in 2020 that she loves repeating outfits. "I've worn the same dress I don't know how many times. I re-wear everything," she said. "Our staff even put up pictures of the number of times I wore the dress. I thought it was funny," she added, explaining, "There are people who are much cooler than me, who have a much cooler fashion sense than I'll ever have. It's not my thing." In fact, Kotb could easily join the list of celebrities who re-wore outfits on multiple red carpets. In a 2019 conversation with "Today," the star shared that she went from a size 8 to a size 10. "I'm up to 10s — I love a 10," the star said, proving that beauty and confidence aren't in any way tied to the size of one's clothing.

While it seemed as if Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman were happy, in 2022, the couple announced the end of their engagement. "I went to this retreat and had, kind of, an epiphany about my life. And I was realizing that you can love someone — I loved him very much, and still do to this day — but that person isn't right for you in that moment," Kotb revealed on "Today." Of course, Hoda Kotb's breakup with Joel Schiffman was more complicated, as the two share children.

While her private life was changing in the early 2020s, so was her career. In 2021, the television personality launched her very own podcast: "Making Space with Hoda Kotb." In a conversation with Oprah Daily, the star admitted that the ups and downs are a crucial part of life. "Your life is filled with exclamation points, highs and lows," she said. "But most of life is just Wednesday. Just a regular day, and I think if you can find joy on the Wednesdays when you don't have something special happening, or some great event, that's the best." 

Fashion-wise, Kotb slowly shifted from dresses to pants, as the star was more frequently spotted rocking them to industry events and work. Once again, Kotb was all about comfort, but that certainly didn't mean that her looks weren't fashionable, too.

In 2024, Hoda Kotb turned 60, joining a club of immensely strong and talented women. "When I learned that Brooke Shields is turning 60 and Mariska Hargitay and Sandra Bullock and all of these awesome women, I feel like this is a club that I am honored to be a part of," Kotb said on an episode of "Making Space with Hoda Kotb" (via "Today"). "Because what do I [see] when I look at these women? I see vibrancy. I see creativity. I see rebirth. I see new life. I see all these beautiful things."

While the television personality rarely talks about fashion as it simply isn't a major interest of hers, she did defend her love for jean jackets on "Today with Hoda & Jenna." "You've got on a sundress, and you're going out, but you walk into places that are chilly. What are you gonna throw on?" Kotb said. "It fits, it's nice, it's got an inside pocket — you can put your phone in there." And frankly, we couldn't agree more — there are numerous fun ways to style a basic jean jacket!

On social media, Kotb would frequently give her followers glimpses into her day-to-day life, and her daughters were a big part of it. Even though she had separated from Joel Schiffman, the two seem to have managed to maintain a great co-parenting relationship. 

In January 2025, Hoda Kotb left the "Today" show, ready to start a completely new chapter of her life. "I knew that I wanted this decade to be different," she said (via People). "I looked at my time like a pie. I was like, this is how much time I get, and now what am I going to do with it and how am I going to carve it up? And I wanted it to be filled with more of them," she explained, talking about her daughters.

Since she left the "Today" show, her routine drastically changed, and Kotb admitted that makeup is very rarely a part of her life nowadays. "I have worn makeup probably three times since I've left the "Today" show, and I've been gone for almost two months," she told People in another interview. Now, the television personality seems happier than ever, and we're just as excited as she is to see what her 60s have in store for her!