Nancy O'Dell biography
Date of birth : 1966-02-25
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Sumter, South Carolina, U.S.
Nationality : American
Category : Arts and Entertainment
Last modified : 2011-10-13
Credited as : Entertainment Tonight, Dancing with the Stars, Conviva Networks
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Nancy O'Dell began her broadcast career as a reporter and anchor at WPDE-TV in her hometown of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She later worked as morning news anchor and crime reporter at WCBD-TV in nearby Charleston, SC. While in Charleston, O'Dell's reports on the lenient police approach to DUI cases led to a State Law Enforcement Division investigation that resulted in state authorities re-issuing a more stringent directive regarding these cases. Ms. O'Dell was honored by the Associated Press with the Best Report of the Year Award (all media, South Carolina). In 1993, she joined NBC's WTVJ in Miami co-anchoring the 5:30pm news with Jackie Nespral. She left the station in 1995 to move to Las Vegas with her first husband. In addition to her work as a lead anchor on "Access Hollywood" (1996), Ms. O'Dell also contributed to NBC News' "Today" (1952), and also to "Dateline NBC" (1992). She has covered such events as The Oscars, The Emmys, The Grammys and The Golden Globe Awards, as well as co-hosting a number of Pre-Show/Arrivals shows for The Emmys and the Golden Globes.
O'Dell co-hosted the Miss USA and Miss Universe competitions in 2004 and 2005, the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade on WNBC from 2004-2006, the Miss USA 2006 pageant with Drew Lachey, the Miss Universe 2006 pageant with Carlos Ponce, and the Miss USA 2007 pageant with Tim Vincent.
O'Dell appeared in minor roles in the television series Charmed (Season 1 finale and Season 5 premiere). She also portrayed herself in Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000), and Scream 4 (2011). She also served as host and consulting producer of the USA Network talent competition Nashville Star over its first two seasons.
In 2009, O'Dell hosted NBC's pre-show for the 66th Annual Golden Globes with Tiki Barber and Brooke Burke. She portrayed herself in the Hannah Montana Season 3 episode "Cheat It". She also appeared on the Fox sitcom Brothers, and in the same year, she and Maria Menounos guest co-hosted WWE Raw on October 12, 2009.
O'Dell was set to participate in the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars and was to be paired with professional dancer Tony Dovolani. She had to withdraw from the competition before the season started due to a knee injury sustained during training; her replacement was Melissa Rycroft from the most recent cycle of The Bachelor.
She was first married to Dr. Richard O'Dell, but they divorced. On June 29, 2005, she married Keith Zubchevich, an executive for Conviva Networks. She is stepmother to her husband's two sons, Tyler and Carson. She gave birth to their daughter on June 11, 2007 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
During her pregnancy, she says unexpected and surprising changes happened to her body, which prompted her to write a parenting book: Full of Life. She is the Muscular Dystrophy Association's National ALS Ambassador.
