Robin Roberts didn’t have a master plan to become one of America’s favorite faces of morning news—she was always just being herself.
Her poise, humor, and no-nonsense approach to news are all factors that have shaped her 20-year tenure at Good Morning America, where she’s done everything from report on world affairs and natural disasters to interview larger-than-life figures like the Obamas and Janet Jackson.
“It wasn’t on my white board as a kid, being a coanchor on a morning show like this! And then to be here for 20 years, it’s unreal,” Roberts tells BAZAAR.com. “I can remember my knees knocking that first day, working with the Diane Sawyer and the Charlie Gibson.” The magic hasn’t worn off for her, she adds. “I still get goosebumps saying ‘Good morning, America,’ knowing that I’m setting the tone for the day for so many people, and the responsibility that goes with that, and the privilege that goes with that.”
Roberts appears on our Zoom chat right after a workout and in between editing sessions for her prime-time interview with the Kardashians. She’s somehow in full morning-show glam, wearing a maroon hoodie with the word trailblazer embroidered on the front. The term fits, of course: She’s a Black woman and one of the first openly queer newscasters, and she’s broken barriers by talking about her health hurdles. (She famously overcame breast cancer, only to be diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disease, just five years later.) She’s acutely aware that her presence on TV is meaningful to many different types of people, and she has the rare ability to talk about her own fame in a way that still sounds humble.
“I check off a lot of boxes,” Roberts laughs when asked about how the world views her. “I remember especially when I was in sports and people did not want, at that time, women to give them their sports news. I felt more that people saw me as a woman than as a Black woman. And then, I remember when someone asked me, ‘Is it more difficult being Black, being a woman, or being gay?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know! I’ve always been a Black, gay woman. I don’t know how it feels like to not be that.'”
She adds, “People may not agree with everything that I say or do, but they know they can trust me and that my intentions are pure. I’m not a preacher. I’m not a teacher. I’m a messenger. That’s how I look at it. I’m a walking, breathing symbol of ‘This, too, shall pass,’ and I think that’s what motivates people. I’m glad that for whatever reason, people draw inspiration from that.”
Roberts knows how to conquer a challenge—her job requires asking the hard questions, whether she’s speaking with world figures, Oscar winners, or First Ladies. But the poise and confidence viewers see onscreen wasn’t a skill she gained overnight. When she looks back at where she was at the start of her tenure at Good Morning America, she remembers a young woman battling imposter syndrome.
“Maturing [helped me overcome that]. I don’t wanna say aging … but you get comfortable in your own skin after a while,” Roberts says. “I went through those peaks and valleys of feeling that way. But when you read Michelle Obama’s book and she talks about feeling like an imposter—this is someone with Ivy League degrees, a First Lady, and even she deals with that.
“Sometimes you tell yourself you’re not good enough. You’re not pretty enough. You say these things about yourself that you would never say to a friend or even a stranger. I became very intentional in my thoughts, knowing that I have a choice to make about how I’m going to feel about myself and my worth. Self-respect and self-worth—that is my key.”
The media figure has also learned a thing or two about beauty and personal style during her decades on the air. Her latest book, Brighter by the Day: Waking Up to New Hopes and Dreams, is even dedicated to the glam team that’s helped prep her every day over the last 20 years. Every weekday after hair and makeup, Roberts posts a quick video clip in which she shares a message and prayer with her glam team. It’s a moment she uses to center herself and approach the day with her support system by her side.
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“They are the best. They put Humpty Dumpty back together again every single morning I walk in that door,” Roberts says. “But it’s not just Elena George, who’s my phenomenal makeup artist, or Petula Skeete, who does my hair and who even styled it when I was bald, or my stylist, DiAndre Tristan—it’s not just that they add to my life, it’s the spirit of them. I love how they’re always evolving. They’re always growing. They’re not staying stagnant, any more than I am. To see their growth in these last 20 years has been something to witness.”
In recent years, Roberts has also reconsidered her approach to finding joy—a subject she discusses at length in Brighter by the Day. An optimist, she shares that achieving joy is a choice, especially when you find yourself in the midst of emotionally and physically challenging circumstances.
“I’m a realist, but positivity has been my fallback,” Roberts quips. “I have conditioned myself to see the good. Optimism is a muscle that gets stronger with use. When cancer comes your way or divorce or something else crosses your path, you have that as a fallback. You gotta change the way you think in order to change the way you feel.”
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Prioritizing positivity has been an essential life choice for Roberts to fall back on especially as public opinion toward broadcast news has shifted. There’s no question the nation’s last presidential administration resulted in more Americans vocally opposing the places where we get our news, along with the people who report it.
“To me, the content is the same, but how people receive that content is changing. People aren’t watching at home and turning on their TV sets. They might watch us at 10 o’clock at night on their phones. The manner in which they receive the news is different, but the way I present it—the content is still the same,” Roberts says. “I’m gonna give you unfiltered facts, the truth, and you can trust that I’m gonna give you the accurate information. If I should make a mistake, I will acknowledge it and let you know. And there’s nothing I can do once you take that information. I would get angry sometimes when someone would take something that was reported and twist it in a way that fit their narrative. People often want to accuse us of having bias, but look in the mirror and check yourself first. What bias are you bringing to watching this content?”
Regardless of how public perception of the media has changed—and will probably continue to do so—Roberts prides herself on the fact that over the last two decades of her career, she’s become a figure viewers can trust and depend on.
“Of all the accolades that I’ve received—and I’m grateful for each and every one of them—it was about five years or so ago when I was voted by Reader’s Digest ‘Most Trusted.’ Not ‘Most Trusted Woman on TV,’ not ‘Most Trusted Black Woman,'” Roberts reflects, “simply ‘Most Trusted Journalist on Television.’ That means everything to me.”
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What 20 Years on Good Morning America Has Taught Robin Roberts
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