From her first day on the Today show in October 1976 to her later return through reunion segments, Jane Pauley’s early years on morning TV show up through portraits that feel like time capsules. Behind the smiles and outfits, there’s also a more personal threa
She didn’t just walk into daytime television when she joined the Today show in October 1976—she settled into one of the most watched places on television, where millions start their mornings with the same steady faces.
In an early portrait taken around that time, Jane Pauley is dressed in a tasteful gold earring and necklace set. Her layered curls fall just past her shoulders. close to the butterfly haircut that’s made a comeback in recent years. but with that softer. understated 1970s look. Her makeup is minimal too—just a pop of pale blue eyeshadow. the kind of detail that makes the image feel intimate. not staged.
Those years are coming back into view now. not through a new interview or a headline. but through the small visual details people can’t stop sharing: a paisley shirt. a shared desk. a memorable look in black and gold. In a May 1978 photo, Pauley is caught in a red-orange top with a paisley print. Her hair again falls in wavy curls that frame her face. and the lighting reveals a dark blonde tone that may appear brown at first glance. At 27, her simple makeup emphasizes what the picture gives away instantly—youthful glow, and confidence that still reads as effortless.
On the Today show, she was surrounded by personalities who helped define the era. In a 1977 photo, Pauley is seated between Gene Shalit and Tom Brokaw in front of the Today news desk. Shalit served as a film and television critic on Today for 37 years. Brokaw was Pauley’s main co-anchor from 1976 to 1981. Their working partnership stretched beyond the studio—Pauley later referred to Brokaw as an “older brother.” Brokaw also played a role in matchmaking Pauley with her husband. cartoonist Garry Trudeau. In an interview for the Television Academy Foundation. Pauley joked that she would have never named her son Tom if she’d had a bad relationship with Brokaw all those years.
For a while, those desks weren’t just about news. They were about culture too. In 1977, Pauley interviewed John Travolta for Today on the heels of his success in the film Saturday Night Fever. In the interview photo. Pauley and Travolta almost look like they coordinated—Pauley wears a navy blue blouse and vest. while Travolta wears a slate gray jacket over a black turtleneck.
Even in archival moments like that, her public life and private reality lived alongside each other. After she left the Today show, Pauley co-anchored Dateline from 1992 to 2003 and also hosted her own show from 2004 to 2005. In 2004, she published her memoir, Skywriting: A Life Out of Blue. The book revealed and detailed her experiences with bipolar affective disorder.
That personal truth has never fully disappeared from the way people talk about her. It’s there beneath the glamour of the photos, too. An October 1981 portrait shows Pauley smiling in a black and gold dress. the gold a bright break from the black-and-white patterns she’s worn at many glam events over the years. The picture also comes with a quiet detail fans often notice later: it would appear to be around the last time she had long hair before she became known for a sharper short blonde haircut in the 1990s and 2000s.
The next shift shows up in the photos of her “new era.” Her signature short hair appears to have started with a curled bob in the 1980s. An early example is an NBC portrait taken in 1985, where she wears thick gold hoop earrings. That same year carried another milestone for her newsroom home: it would be the first time in years that the Today show would beat Good Morning America in ratings.
Her relationship with the show didn’t end when she officially departed. Pauley first joined Today in 1976 and officially departed in 1989. Though she had moved on afterward—returning in different ways over time—she still looked back on the Today show fondly. She made guest appearances in 2009 for a weekly segment entitled Your Life Calling. In 2013, she joined a reunion edition of Today. And as of this writing, she continues working as a TV anchor, hosting CBS News’ Sunday Morning.
What ties all of these images together—paisley shirts. the desk beside Shalit and Brokaw. the gold dress. the curled bob—isn’t just nostalgia. It’s the way her public life kept changing. while the person behind the anchor chair kept resurfacing through the same lens: morning TV. yes. but also the human details that made her more than a face on the screen.
Jane Pauley Today show Gene Shalit Tom Brokaw John Travolta Dateline Sunday Morning bipolar affective disorder Skywriting: A Life Out of Blue