The Tragic Death Of Savannah Guthrie's Father, Charles

To say that Savannah Guthrie has already had an extremely difficult 2026 would be an understatement. The "Today" anchor returned to the airwaves in late January following a health scare that required vocal cord surgery, only to immediately be forced to take another leave of absence to deal with the kidnapping disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, in early February. At the time of writing, the case is still developing, with authorities continuing to pursue tips that will hopefully lead to Nancy's safe return. What makes the situation all the more saddening is the fact that Savannah is no stranger to tragedy — particularly, as it pertains to her parents. More specifically, she previously had to contend with the unexpected death of her father, Charles Guthrie, at a relatively young age.

Savannah was just a 16-year-old high school student living in Tucson, Arizona, when her father died as a result of a heart attack while working in Mexico in June 1988. Charles himself was only 49 years old at the time, per an obituary archived on Newspapers.com. During an appearance on "Today" co-host Hoda Kotb's "Making Space" podcast in February 2024, Savannah recalled the harrowing moment she learned the news. The then-teenager had gotten home late at night after spending an evening on the town, and was surprised to see that her mother and sister were still awake. "I knew something was badly wrong — the way you can feel it," she said. Furthermore, while she was understandably overcome with emotion in the immediate aftermath of her dad's passing, the grief never truly left her. "Sometimes, it feels good if I can have a tear or cry for my father. I'm glad, because it's an act of love. It's me saying, I still love you, Daddy," she shared.

The tragic death of Savannah Guthrie's father, Charles Guthrie, in the summer of 1988 came during what would have ideally been a happy period of transition for the future "Today" host. As she recalled in 2022, via Today, she was gearing up for her final year of high school at the time. College came around not long after, though Charles' death made it exceptionally difficult for Savannah to spend too much time away from home — for more reasons than one. "I then lived at home all through college. We didn't have money to afford the dorm. And that was thing one, but the other was that my sister and I really felt like we should stick with my mom and not leave her alone," she said.

Later, at 21, Savannah landed her first journalism job in Montana. She was still reluctant to leave home, but ultimately managed to do so thanks to some encouragement from the very same woman it was so difficult to say goodbye to. "And that's when she said, 'If you can't leave me, then I didn't do my job right, Savannah.' She just gave me permission to go, you know?" This proved to be a pivotal moment in Savannah's career, as she further confessed that had her mother, Nancy Guthrie, asked her to stay instead, she most likely would have. And while Nancy would have liked that herself, she also wanted Savannah to pursue her own ambitions. "You don't spoon-feed your kids. You teach them how to eat for themselves," she said of her mother's parenting style, which she's tried to emulate with her own children. Fittingly enough, Savannah would eventually name her son Charles after her father.