Nancy O'Dell (born Nancy Evelyn Humphries; February 25, 1966)[1] is an American television host and entertainment journalist. She served as co-anchor of the syndicated entertainment news show Entertainment Tonight from January 3, 2011, to August 2, 2019.
O'Dell began her broadcasting career as a reporter and anchor at WPDE-TV in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She later worked as morning news anchor and crime reporter at WCBD-TV in Charleston, South Carolina. While there, her reports on the lenient police approach to DUI cases led to a State Law Enforcement Division investigation that resulted in authorities issuing more stringent directive for such cases.[citation needed] She was honored by the Associated Press with the Best Report of the Year Award (all media, South Carolina). In 1993, she joined NBC's WTVJ in Miami, co-anchoring the 5:30 p.m. news with Jackie Nespral. O'Dell left that station in 1995 to move to Las Vegas.[citation needed] While there she worked as an entertainment reporter for the nationally syndicated tabloid show A Current Affair until the show ended in 1996.[2]
Access Hollywood (1996–2009)
O'Dell joined the entertainment news program Access Hollywood when the program debuted in 1996.[3] In addition to her work as Access Hollywood's lead anchor, O'Dell contributed to NBC News' Today and Dateline NBC. She covered such ceremonies as the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, and Golden Globe Awards, as well as co-hosting a number of pre-shows and arrivals for the Emmys and Golden Globes.
O'Dell co-hosted the Miss USA and Miss Universe competitions in 2004 and 2005. She co-hosted the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade on WNBC from 2004 to 2006. She co-hosted the Miss USA 2006 pageant with Drew Lachey, the Miss Universe 2006 pageant with Carlos Ponce, and the Miss USA 2007 pageant with Tim Vincent.
On January 3, 2011, O'Dell joined Entertainment Tonight as a special correspondent, and she succeeded Mary Hart as co-anchor after Hart left the show in May 2011. An avid scrapbooker, in 2010 O'Dell partnered with Creative Memories[7] to release her first collection of scrapbooking supplies, the Hummingbird Collection, and her second book, Full of Love: Mom-to-mom Advice for Enriching Families with Simple Photo Albums and Scrapbooking.[8]
On August 2, 2019, O'Dell announced on-air that she would be leaving Entertainment Tonight after that day's broadcast. She also paid respects to her manager who recently died.[9]
Personal life
O'Dell was married to Dr. Richard O'Dell[2] from September 30, 1995, to November 4, 2004. In 2005, she married Keith Zubchevich. O'Dell gave birth to their daughter, Ashby Grace, in June 2007, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.[10] She said unexpected and surprising changes happened to her body during the pregnancy that prompted her to write a parenting book, Full of Life.[11] She is one of the Muscular Dystrophy Association's National ALS Ambassadors.[12] In September 2016, O'Dell filed for legal separation from Zubchevich and in November 2017, they filed for divorce.[13][14][15]
In May 2013, O'Dell received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Clemson University. At the ceremony, she spoke to the graduates, encouraging them to never give up in pursuing their dreams: "I decided that I would rather fail doing something I enjoyed than be successful doing something that would just be a grind [....] my wish for all of you is that you will do the same. Be who you are because you'll always be right."[16][17]
References
^samanthabenitz (October 8, 2016). "Nancy O'Dell". Hollywood Life. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
^ abcdDaniels, Ashley (December 2014). "A Tale Of Two Stars". Grand Strand Magazine. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
