Deborah Norville Opens Up About Her Career Pivots and Overcoming Depression

Published: May 22, 2025

Deborah Norville, the beloved host of Inside Edition, has had a storied career in broadcast journalism, full of twists and turns. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Norville chats about grappling with thoughts that her career was over when in reality, her best days were ahead of her.

Norville's road to the Inside Edition desk was long and winding. A career in broadcast journalism wasn't on her radar when she heard about a friend's internship with WSB, the local NBC affiliate out of Atlanta. Thinking the experience sounded like "an incredible opportunity," the college junior decided to go for it.

After a series of internships and jobs, Norville joined WMAQ-TV, Chicago's NBC-owned local affiliate. In 1982, she'd start anchoring. In 1987, Norville joined NBC News' NBC News at Sunrise. There, she was the only female anchor of a network newscast.

Her success in the anchor seat on NBC News at Sunrise led to occasional sub-ins on the Today show. In September 1989, Norville was named news anchor on Today. However, the way the network handled Norville's entry to the show and Jane Pauley's exit ruffled feathers and soured Norville to some, she claims.

Seasoned but not immune to industry tension, Norville pushed forward and did some important work on Today. During her time there, Norville's family also grew: she and husband Karl Wellner welcomed their first child.

In a 1991 interview with PEOPLE, Norville said of her situation at Today, "I can’t control the office gossip or the industry gossip. Look, I’m the first one to say if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen … but I crawled into the oven, and it was turned up to broil. I’m not bitter. But, gosh, I was shocked initially. Devastated, and then utterly depressed. I can’t tell you how depressed I was."

In the present, she echoes the sentiment. "Not all the [career] pivots were by choice. I left Today. I resigned before they could push me out. I had been unfairly targeted as having pushed out my predecessor, Jane Pauley," she claims of the public attention that followed.

While difficult, the time in her life was transformative. "The challenge is, how do you get back on track? How do you pick up the pieces? How do you recalibrate?"

When she left Today, "I went through a major depression," she says. "I didn't think I'd ever work in broadcasting again — and there were plenty in the business who agreed with that assessment."

Her next shift came as ABC Radio approached her with the opportunity to do a three-hour radio show.

"I said, 'Well, I really want to stay home with my baby,' because honestly, I hadn't left the house. And they said, 'Oh, well that's fine. We can put all the equipment in your house.' Every obstacle I threw up was not an obstacle for them. It was like God was talking to me, and what he was saying was, 'You're supposed to do this radio show.' And why that was so good for me was, it was the only job in my career where I've ever been able to say they didn't hire me because I'm blue-eyed and blonde."

The opportunity came with unforgettable interviews. Norville notes her first two guests on the show were Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey.

After nearly three years with CBS News, Norville was offered the opportunity to anchor Inside Edition. In her now 30 years holding the anchor position — which makes her the longest-running anchor on a national television program — she had the opportunity to be a part of journalism that's not only impacted people on a personal level but has also made history.

Where Norville stands today at 66 years old is "very sweet," she says, considering, "nobody thought I'd be back in the business when I left Today."

"To not only get back into business, but to survive and thrive on a show that is so important to so many people — both on television, but also our audience digitally is huge."

All in all, Norville is "overwhelmed with gratitude" as she explores the opportunities ahead of her after leaving Inside Edition on May 21. "People have been so incredibly lovely, and I'm just incredibly grateful for all of it."

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