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Lara Spencer

American television journalist (born 1969)

Summary

American television journalist (born 1969)

Field	Value
name	Lara Spencer
image	Lara_Spencer_May_2014.jpg
caption	Spencer in 2014
birth_name	Lara Christine Von Seelen
birth_date
birth_place	Garden City, New York, U.S.
alma_mater	Pennsylvania State University
occupation	Television host, television producer
spouse	{{plainlist
* {{marriage	David Haffenreffer	September 30, 2000	June 2015	end	divorce}}
children	2

Lara Christine Von Seelen is an American television journalist. She is best known for her work on ABC's Good Morning America, previously as co-anchor and currently as contributor. She is also a correspondent for Nightline and ABC News. She was the host of the syndicated entertainment newsmagazine The Insider from 2004 to 2011 and was a regular contributor to CBS's The Early Show.

She was also the national correspondent for Good Morning America and spent several years as a lifestyle reporter for WABC-TV. She hosted Antiques Roadshow on PBS for the 2004 and 2005 seasons and Antiques Roadshow FYI, a spin-off of Antiques Roadshow, during 2005. She hosts the show Flea Market Flip on both HGTV and the Great American Country channel. In April 2018, she announced she would be only appearing on GMA three days a week to focus on her television producing.

Early life and education

Spencer grew up in Garden City, New York, on Long Island, She attended Pennsylvania State University on an athletic scholarship her senior year, and graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism.

Career

Following college, Spencer went into the NBC page program, where she would volunteer to work with other reporters in order to gain experience. From there, she landed a position at the CBS affiliate WDEF-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee as a multimedia journalist shooting and producing her own stories. A year later, she joined News 12 Long Island. Two years later, she began to anchor overnight news updates for WABC-TV. While there, she convened over coverage of the TWA Flight 800 crash, bringing her to the attention of national news executives. She then joined ABC's Good Morning America in 1999 as a national correspondent.

Spencer married former CNNfn journalist David Haffenreffer on September 30, 2000, at St. Andrew's Dune Church in an Episcopal ceremony. They lived in the Riverside section of Greenwich, Connecticut. The couple divorced in June 2015.

In 2014, Spencer was named grand marshal at Penn State's homecoming.

In 2017, she hosted the limited series People Icons.

Spencer announced in January 2018 that she was engaged to New York tech entrepreneur Richard McVey. Spencer first met McVey after a mutual friend set them up on a blind date. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of MarketAxess, a publicly traded financial technology company. On September 1, 2018, Spencer and McVey married in an outdoor ceremony in Vail, Colorado.

In 2018, People announced Spencer’s plans to leave her job as one of the co-anchors on Good Morning America to focus on her production company, DuffKat Media, and work on Good Morning America from behind the scenes in a lesser capacity.

In 2019, Spencer was the guest picker on College GameDay for the Michigan vs. Penn State game.

Television producer

Spencer was the creator and executive producer of the prime time game show, It's Worth What?, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, which aired during the summer of 2011 on NBC. She created and produced two television shows based on her passions for interior designing, a one-hour special titled I Brake for Yard Sales that originally aired in April 2012 on HGTV and a flea market-themed series currently airing on Great American Country called Flea Market Flip.

Other work

Spencer's first book, I Brake for Yard Sales, a guide on how to create high-end looking rooms using secondhand finds, was published and released in April 2012.

She replaced Brooke Burke-Charvet and co-hosted the 87th Miss America pageant at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey with Chris Harrison on September 15, 2013. She and Harrison co-hosted Miss America 2015 on September 14, 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/08/miss_america_2015_judges.html

Spencer's second book, titled Flea Market Fabulous: Designing Gorgeous Rooms with Vintage Treasures, a guide on designing rooms and homes, was published and released on September 16, 2014.

Controversy

In August 2019, Spencer's comments about six-year-old Prince George of Cambridge enjoying ballet classes (among other hobbies) were interpreted by some as offensive, causing public backlash. Spencer issued an Instagram apology, saying, "I fully believe we should all be free to pursue our passions" and apologized on Good Morning America during an interview with three professional male dancers.

References

"Lara Spencer". [[TV Guide.
Sherwood, Ben. (2011-03-17). "Lara Spencer, Insider Co-Anchor, Joins Good Morning America". abcnews.go.com.
Guthrie, Marisa. (2011-03-17). "Lara Spencer Leaving 'The Insider' for 'Good Morning America' - The Hollywood Reporter". hollywoodreporter.com.
(8 January 2013). "2012-13 Penn State Women's Swimming and Diving Yearbook".
(2018-04-16). "Lara Spencer Is Stepping Away From Role at "Good Morning America"". Good Housekeeping.
Ricapito, Maria. (December 15, 2014). "How I Got Here: 'Good Morning America' Cohost Lara Spencer Explains Her Career Path". [[Marie Claire]].
. ["Lara Spencer to be grand marshal at Homecoming 2014"](http://news.psu.edu/story/323812/2014/08/25/campus-life/lara-spencer-be-grand-marshal-homecoming-2014). *news.psu.edu*.
(2013). "Lara Spencer Biography". laraspencer.net.
Blaschak, Kate. (1996-01-31). "Coach scores Brownie points". The Digital Collegian.
Needleman, Sarah E.. (2009-09-29). "Lara Spencer and 'The Insider'". [[Dow Jones & Company.
Johnson, Jill. (February 2012). "Firmly Anchored". greenwichmag.com.
(October 1, 2000). "WEDDINGS; Lara Spencer, David Haffenreffer". [[The New York Times]].
Costagregni, Susie, "Antares party raises funds for Greenwich YMCA", headline for "The dish with susie" column in ''[[The Advocate (Stamford)]]'' of [[Stamford, Connecticut]], May 13, 2007, page 2
"GMA's Lara Spencer Finalizes Divorce".
Corinthios, Aurelie. (14 February 2017). "From Will and Kate to Sexiest Man Alive: Lara Spencer to Host New Series Inspired by Iconic PEOPLE Covers".
"'Good Morning America' host Lara Spencer engaged to Rick McVey". NY Daily News.
"Lara Spencer is Married! Good Morning America Co-Host Ties the Knot in Vail".
"Lara Spencer Is Cutting Back Good Morning America Role to Focus on Lifestyle Brand: Source".
(19 October 2019). "Lee Corso's headgear pick for Michigan vs. Penn State with Lara Spencer - College GameDay".
(June 8, 2011). "'It's Worth What?': NBC Sets Premiere Date". The Hollywood Reporter.
(September 28, 2012). "'Flea Market Flip': Lara Spencer on her new HGTV show and her top 4 treasure-hunting tips". Entertainment Weekly.
Spencer, Lara. (2011). "I Brake for Yard Sales". Stewart, Tabori & Chang.
(May 20, 2013). "Chris Harrison, Lara Spencer to Host Miss America 2014". ABC News.
(2014). "Flea Market Fabulous: Designing Gorgeous Rooms with Vintage Treasures". Stewart, Tabori and Chang.
A. O. L. Staff. (23 August 2019). "'GMA' anchor Lara Spencer accused of 'bullying' Prince George for liking ballet: 'Despicable'".
Ohmer, S.. "Defending Dance".
Swift, Andy. (August 23, 2019). "Lara Spencer Apologizes for Mocking Prince George's Ballet Lessons on GMA".
Todisco, Eric. (August 23, 2019). "Lara Spencer Apologizes for 'Insensitive Comment' About Prince George's Ballet Lessons on GMA". People.
(August 26, 2019). "Lara Spencer, 'Good Morning America' co-anchor, apologizes for mocking Prince George's interest in ballet". CNN.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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