Meredith Louise Vieira (born December 30, 1953) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. She is best known as the original moderator of the daytime talk show The View"(1997–2006), the original host of the syndicated daytime version of the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (2002–2013), and as co-host of the NBC morning news program Today (2006–2011). She currently hosts the syndicated weekday game show 25 Words or Less.
Vieira has also been a contributor to Dateline NBC, Rock Center with Brian Williams, and NBC Nightly News, and hosted the Lifetime television series Intimate Portrait (1994–2005). From 2014 to 2016, she hosted her own syndicated daytime talk show, The Meredith Vieira Show.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
After joining the Today Show in 2006, Vieira began as a host of the NBC broadcast for that year's parade, having replaced Katie Couric (who co-hosted every broadcast up to that point starting in 1991). She would co-host the NBC broadcast of parade for a few more years, before leaving after the 2010 parade, due to her departure from Today before the 2011 parade, where she was replaced by Ann Curry.