Early life

Pauley was born in 1950 to Richard and Mary Pauley. She was a state debate champion at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, where she graduated in 1968. She then majored in Political Science at Indiana University, where she was involved in the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. After college, she worked from 1972 to 1975 at then-CBS affiliate WISH-TV in Indianapolis. In 1975 Pauley joined WMAQ-TV to become the first woman to anchor a weekday evening newscast in Chicago, marking the beginning of her career with NBC.

Career

Today

From 1976 to 1989 Pauley was the co-host, with Tom Brokaw from 1976-81 and Bryant Gumbel from 1982-89, of NBC's Today. She also anchored the Sunday edition of NBC Nightly News from 1980-82. Following in the footsteps of the first female anchor of the show, Barbara Walters, she became a symbol for professional women, more specifically, female journalists. In her autobiography, And So It Goes, Pauley's colleague Linda Ellerbee wrote, "She (Pauley) is what I want to be when I grow up". NBC briefly experimented with a trio of anchors, Pauley, Gumbel, and Chris Wallace, before returning to a co-anchor format with Gumbel.

In 1989, following months of conjecture about Pauley's position on the program, she announced her resignation from Today. Speculation in the media seemed to imply that NBC executives had eased her out to advance younger NBC newscaster Deborah Norville, who had begun to play a larger role in the two-hour morning program.

After leaving The Today Show, Pauley hosted Real Life with Jane Pauley and served as substitute anchor for NBC Nightly News.

In 1990, Pauley co-hosted the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards, alongside Candice Bergen and Jay Leno.

Dateline NBC

From 1992 to 2003, Pauley co-hosted NBC's Dateline NBC. On February 9, 1993, at the end of a regularly scheduled edition of Dateline, Pauley, along with co-host Stone Phillips, delivered a public apology to General Motors on behalf of NBC. While Pauley had no connection to the story, the apology was part of the settlement of a lawsuit regarding the failure to disclose the use of an incendiary device in a story about the safety of a General Motors pickup truck which aired on Dateline on November 17, 1992.

The Jane Pauley Show

In 2004, Pauley returned to television as host of The Jane Pauley Show, a syndicated daytime talk show. The Jane Pauley Show never gained traction in the ratings and was canceled after one season. Following the show's cancellation, Pauley's appearances on television included leading a half-hour discussion on PBS's Depression: Out of the Shadows, which aired in May 2008. She also campaigned publicly for President Obama in her home state of Indiana and participated in the Smart Talk Lecture Series.

In September 2009, Pauley lent her name to the Jane Pauley Community Health Center, a facility in collaboration between the Community Health Network and the Metropolitan School District of Warren Township, Indiana. The center serves the local community, including students and their families, regardless of insurance or income, with an emphasis on integrating medical, dental and behavioral health.

In 2009, Pauley joined the Board of Directors of The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis-based non-profit organization that supports education innovation and reform. Pauley is also affiliated with the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, where she serves on the institute's leadership board. She spoke publicly about her experience with bipolar disorder at the institute’s opening ceremony in 2005, and she also appears in a 2009 video about the research mission of the institute. She also serves on the board of directors and chairs the Advisory Council for the Children's Health Fund in New York City.

Return to Today

In March 2009, Jane Pauley returned to the TODAY show as a contributor hosting a weekly segment sponsored by AARP, "Your Life Calling", profiling people throughout the country age 50+ who were reinventing their lives in new and different ways. The award-winning series was on the air through 2013 and culminated in Pauley's second New York Times best-seller, "Your Life Calling: Reimagining the Rest of Your Life.

On December 30, 2013, Pauley, former Today co-host Bryant Gumbel, current Today anchor Matt Lauer and current weather anchor Al Roker (who was live in Pasadena, California) reunited to co-host a special reunion edition of Today.

CBS

On April 27, 2014, Pauley began contributing to CBS Sunday Morning as a correspondent and occasional substitute host. Pauley has been a guest host on CBS This Morning and has also filled in for Scott Pelley on the CBS Evening News.

Accolades

Radio and Television News Directors Association's Paul White Award for Lifetime Contribution to Electronic Journalism.

Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Achievement by an Individual from American Women in Radio and Television.

The first international Matrix Award from the Association for Women in Communications.

Member of the Broadcast and Cable Hall of Fame.

Pauley is the recipient of multiple Emmy Awards, the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Outstanding Achievement.

Personal life

Pauley made public her diagnosis of bipolar disorder in 2004, the same year she published her bestselling memoir, Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue, and launched her daytime talk show.

In October 2006, Pauley and her lawyers filed a lawsuit against The New York Times for allegedly duping her into lending her name and likeness to an advertising supplement popular with drug companies.

Pauley is married to the cartoonist Garry Trudeau, creator of Doonesbury; they have three children and two grandchildren.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]