You used to wake up to her every morning. Now Katie Couric is moving into your afternoons – and she's tackling bigger subjects than ever before.
SheKnows Girl Crush: Katie Couric
Katie’s Big Move
You used to wake up to her every morning. Now Katie Couric is moving into your afternoons – and she’s tackling bigger subjects than ever before.
You may have seen her deliver the news on Today, CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes, Dateline, Good Morning America, ABC World News, 20/20 and many more prestigious programs. But it is Katie Couric's courageous acts off camera that have so many women looking to her as a role model.
From raising two daughters on her own after her husband passed away in 1998 to passionately crusading for cancer research, Katie has continuously impressed us with her character, not just her successful career.
Staying happy
"I think staying busy and doing something you love keeps you happy."
"I think staying busy and doing something you love keeps you happy," Katie said. "Being committed to something larger than yourself and your own little microcosm. I’ve committed a lot of time to cancer advocacy work, Stand Up To Cancer, and colon cancer research. I think having some kind of higher purpose is really important and really giving back gives you a lot of personal satisfaction."
And with her daytime talk show Katie premiering on Sept. 10, the 55-year-old will now have her own platform to bring attention to the issues she cares about.
Katie told us her show will explore serious topics such as dating violence, army suicides, and the impact of technology on our culture. She’ll also be discussing the topic of personal happiness and how people tend to put too much pressure on themselves.
"You know I’m not happy all the time," Katie said. "Sometimes I’m lonely, sometimes I’m frustrated and self-critical like everyone else, but I think I’ve accepted that as hard as it is, you’re not going to be happy 100 percent of the time."
Celebrity interviews
The show won’t be all tough subjects though. In line with her daytime competitors such as Ellen, Katie will feature celebrity guests. Her first interviews will include Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez and Barbra Streisand. At the top of her wish list for the future: Kate Middleton.
"I think it would be really interesting to interview Kate Middleton because I think she has comported herself so well since she has been thrust in the limelight," Katie said.
"It would be really interesting to interview Kate Middleton because I think she has comported herself so well since she has been thrust in the limelight."
She threw in a bit of constructive criticism for the duchess though, "I think she needs to eat more because she’s so thin."
Middleton would join a laundry list of famous women Couric has interviewed including her favorite, Audrey Hepburn.
"Audrey Hepburn was one of the most elegant and charming and gracious people I’ve ever spoken to," Katie said. " went around the whole studio and introduced herself to every cameraman, every member of our technical crew, every production assistant. She was just so gracious."
Role models
As her own personal role model, Katie looks to one of the leading women in her field.
"Barbara Walters certainly has been a trailblazer for women in television news," she told SheKnows. "She is like the ever-ready bunny. She never slows down. I’m not sure I’ll be able to do what she has done. I’m not quite in my 80s yet, so you can check back with me then."
Somehow we think she’ll keep going and going, too! So what is Katie’s secret to keeping it all together?
"My biggest piece of advice is to find what works for you."
"My biggest piece of advice is to find what works for you," Katie told us. "For some women a demanding job and raising kids is just too difficult, their heart just isn’t in it. I think you really have to look at yourself and find out what will make you happy."
Powerful women: What does Katie think about the portrayal of powerful women in the media? "You don’t see male CEOs or politicians picked apart for the way they look as much as women."
Want more? Watch the full interview with Katie below!
Motherhood
Whether or not a woman chooses to work, Katie encourages finding something to focus on outside of just motherhood. Couric has two daughters from her late husband, Jay Monahan -- Ellie, 21, and Carrie, 16.
"It’s really important for women to have an identity in addition to that of ‘mother,’" she said. "Whether it’s doing community service or writing a blog, feeling as if they’re contributing in addition to their kids. If you just focus all your attention on that, it’s sometimes difficult because you feel like your identity is lost once your kids leave."
Be sure to catch Katie Couric’s first episode of Katie on Sept. 10, where she’ll discuss issues like this and so much more! Check your local listings for times.
And if you'd like attend a taping of Katie, find out how here.
Watch a preview of Katie
Katie Couric talk show preview A preview of the first two weeks of Katie Couric\'s new talk show, Katie.
Photo credit: ABC
Up next: Girl crush quickie Q&A with Katie Couric >>
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Girl Crush quickie
Read Katie's honest answers below.
1. Favorite travel spot
Couric: Any place where there’s a beach and I’m leaving really cold weather.
2. Book on your nightstand
Couric: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson.
3. Best celebrity interview
Couric: Colin Farrell because he was touching my leg a lot. I liked it.
4. Worst celebrity interview
Couric: Denzel Washington got very testy with me once when I was doing an interview with him. I think he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. People have bad days.
5. Celebrity crush
Couric: Gregory Peck. He was so elegant.
6. Personal motto
Couric: Don’t let the turkeys get you down. Throughout my career I had naysayers who said, "You’re never going to make it, or you don’t have what it takes," but for some reason I just kind of always wanted to prove them wrong.
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Photo credit: ABC
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