Who Is Lester Holt’s Wife? All About Carol Hagen

NBC news anchor Lester Holt has had a long and impactful career as a reporter, and through it all, he’s credited his wife, Carol Hagen, for being his rock.

The pair met when Carol was a flight attendant and Lester was a radio reporter in California, but shortly into their relationship, Lester was moving across the country to become a TV news reporter in New York City, and Carol was following him there.

Less than a year later, Carol and Lester got married in California, where they’d soon move back to follow another new gig for Lester. Despite the constant moving, they didn’t hesitate to start a family when they were living together in Chicago. Together, they share two children: Stefan and Cameron.

When asked about the secret to their marriage, Lester had a simple answer: laughter.

“We laugh a lot, we really do. I can be silly, she can be sillier, and we just laugh through things,” he told Extra.

So who is Lester Holt’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Carol Hagen and her relationship with the news anchor.

They spent one of their first dates covering a forest fire

When Carol and Lester first started dating, he was working as a radio reporter at KCBS Radio in California. One day, while they were heading out on a date, Lester got called by his job, asking him to cover a breaking news story of a forest fire in the Napa Valley. Not wanting to cancel their date, Lester asked Carol if she’d accompany him.

“I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve never been invited to go on a breaking news story before. A forest fire — that could be considered a hot date!’ So I said, ‘I’m game.’ “I guess I knew what I was getting myself into with Lester and his career,” Carol told Sactown Mag.

Talking to Extra In 2015, Lester reflected on this aspect of his wife’s support that’s been present from the beginning.

“She understands that when the bell rings, I like to answer it, when the big story’s going on, I want to be there,” he said.

“I love her to death, she has been so wonderful, she knows this job is going to bring a lot of late-night phone calls, but she’s there for me and that means an awful lot,” he continued.

They got married in 1982

Carol and Lester married at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco on May 8, 1982, about two years after they’d started dating. They were both 23 years old.

They first met when Carol was working as a flight attendant at United Airlines, and after being laid off from the company in 1981, Carol followed Lester to New York when he was offered a job at WCBS, reporting on camera.

She continued to follow him on other cross-country moves in pursuit of different news reporting opportunities, from New York to Chicago to California, where they both hailed from and where they got married.

They have two children together

Carol gave birth to her first son with Lester in 1987, five years after she and Lester got married. Stefan Holt was born in Chicago, where dad Lester was working for WBBM-TV at the time.

Stefan followed in his dad’s footsteps, pursuing a career in journalism. He studied broadcast journalism and political science at Pepperdine University, graduating in 2009, and began his career in Florida as a weekend anchor and reporter for WPBF-TV. He currently works at NBC 5 Chicago, where he anchors the nightly news broadcast on weeknights.

On Take Your Kid to Work Day in 2017, Lester brought Stefan with him to work at NBC in NYC — but it was actually Stefan’s workplace at the time, too!

“Yep. On my toes hoping for another inch. But alas busted by the photo. Stefan used to come to the studio with me when he was a kid. Blessed to have him working right near me as an adult in the same building!” Lester captioned a photo of him and his son in the newsroom.

On Mother’s Day 2022, Stefan shared an old photo of himself being held by Carol, with the caption: “I love you Mom! #happymothersday #mom.”

A few years after Stefan was born, Lester and Carol welcomed their second son, Cameron.

Cameron graduated from Stanford University in 2012 with a BS in mathematical and computational science. He also earned a master’s degree in management science and engineering at Stanford in 2013. He currently works as an executive director at Morgan Stanley in New York.

When Cameron was hospitalized for nearly a month with a collapsed lung, Lester was by his side before and after broadcasts.

“We’d have dinner together in hospital chairs eating off paper plates,” Carol told Sactown Magazine. “All of this was going on, and he would just show up to work and be rock steady. Now I don’t mean to be bragging, but he’s just that type of guy. He’s a calm guy under pressure.”

In September 2020, Stefan shared a throwback photo of himself and Cameron being walked to school by their dad.

“Not sure the year here, but this looks like an early autumn day walking to school in Lincoln Park. Brother on the right. Dad walking the family Old English Sheepdog,” he wrote alongside the photo, which showed him and his brother in T -shirts, shorts and sneakers, while dad Lester looked sharp in a denim button-up shifts, slacks and a tie.

They’re grandparents to three grandkids

Carol and Lester became grandparents on Sept. 5, 2017, when their grandson Henry was born to Stefan and his wife, Morgan.

On June 5, 2019, Stefan and Morgan welcomed their second son, Samuel.

Stefan used some news reporter humor when he announced that he and his wife were expecting their third child, posting a photo of sons Henry and Samuel holding a sonogram, captioned: “Breaking News: Henry and Sam are excited to welcome their baby brother this fall “And they’re even helping us with names