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What is Joan Lunden’s Net Worth and Salary?
Joan Lunden, a television host, author, and journalist, has a net worth of $25 million. She co-hosted “Good Morning America” for 17 years and was a special correspondent for “Today” in 2014. Lunden has acted in several films and television series, including “Murphy Brown” and “Elementary.”
Aside from her entertainment career, Lunden has also published several books, including “Joan Lunden’s Healthy Living: A Practical, Inspirational Guide to Creating Balance in Your Life” and “Had I Known: A Memoir of Survival.” In 2021, she began hosting “Second Opinion” on PBS and hosted the “Washington Post” podcast “Caring for Tomorrow” in 2020.
Joan Lunden’s diverse career has made her a household name, and she continues to inspire and entertain audiences through her various projects.
Early Life and Career of Joan Lunden
Joan Lunden was born in Fair Oaks, California in 1950. Her father, Erle, was a cancer surgeon who died in a plane crash when she was 13. She graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a Liberal Arts degree and later studied anthropology and Spanish at Universidad de Las Americas in Mexico City. Lunden’s broadcasting career began at KCRA-TV in Sacramento in 1973, where she started out as a trainee in the news department and eventually became a weather girl, anchor, and reporter within two years.
Her mother, Gladyce, passed away in 2013 and her older brother, Jeff, died in 2007.
Joan Lunden’s Career Highlights
Joan Lunden changed her last name from Blunden to Lunden to avoid mispronunciation. She co-anchored weekend newscasts in 1976 and joined ABC’s “Good Morning America” as a feature news/consumer reporter. She became the co-host of the show in 1980 and covered numerous events and interviewed several U.S. presidents. She left the show in 1997 after ABC executives forced her out due to her age. Joan hosted “Behind Closed Doors” from 1996 to 2001 and often guest-hosted another A&E show, “Biography.” She has also hosted DirectTV’s “Hometown Heroes” and Lifetime’s “Health Corner.” Joan has served as a spokesperson for Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the senior care referral service A Place for Mom. She created Camp Reveille in Naples, Maine, and taught “Population Health and the Media” courses as a visiting professor at Lehigh University.
Joan Lunden’s Personal Life and Health Struggles
Joan Lunden married Michael A. Krauss in 1978 and had three daughters before their divorce in 1992. She converted to Judaism when she married Krauss. In 2000, she married Jeff Konigsberg and had two sets of twins via surrogate in 2003 and 2005. Lunden advocates for surrogacy as a viable option for couples struggling to have children.
In 2014, Lunden was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer and underwent a lumpectomy, radiation, and chemotherapy. She was declared cancer-free nine months later. In 2015, she launched a streaming network called Alive with Joan Lunden, dedicated to breast cancer and women’s health.
Awards and Honors
Joan Lunden has received numerous awards and honors throughout her career. In 2017, she was honored with the National Association of Broadcasters Distinguished Service Award, and in 2011, she won the Gracie Allen Awards for Outstanding Talk Show – Entertainment/Information for “Taking Care with Joan Lunden.”
In 2016, Lunden was presented with the Warrior Award at the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for her work in the fight against cancer. She has also been nominated for five Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Special Class Program for “Good Morning America,” and “Mother’s Day” earned her two CableACE Award nominations for Informational Host (1985 and 1987) and one for Program Hostess (1984).
Aside from these, Joan has also received various awards such as the Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Spirit of Achievement Award, YWCA Outstanding Woman’s Award, National Women’s Political Caucus Award, Baylor University Outstanding Woman of the Year award, New Jersey Division of Civil Rights Award, and the New York Association for Women in Communications’ Matrix Award.
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