Born Albert Lincoln Roker on Aug. 20, 1954 in Queens, NY, Roker was raised a devout Catholic. Fascinated by animation and cartoons as a kid, Roker became a member of the Cartooning & Illustration club while attending Xavier High School in New York City before going on to study graphic design and broadcast journalism at the State University of New York at Oswego. While still in college, Roker landed a job as a weekend weatherman at WTVH-TV in Syracuse, NY. Upon graduating with his BA in communications, Roker found weather casting jobs in Washington, DC and Cleveland, OH. Returning to his hometown of New York in 1983, Roker landed the position of weekend weathercaster for WNBC.
As Roker began to gain more exposure, the network took notice; he soon became the weatherman for “Weekend Today” (NBC, 1987- ). Roker often sat in for Willard Scott on the weekday edition of “Today,” where he became acquainted with fellow journalist Deborah Roberts, who filled in at the news desk on occasion. Roker and Roberts began dating and eventually tied the knot in 1995. When Scott announced his retirement from “Today” in 1996, Roker was ask to fill the weekday weatherman position on the show. Known for his catch phrase “...and here's what's happening in your neck of the woods,” Roker became popular with “Today” viewers for conducting his forecasts outside of the studio, often giving audience members camera time. After establishing himself as a staple on the morning show, Roker began to take on more interviews and segments. In 1997, Roker hosted the MSNBC information quiz show, “Remember This?” which earned him a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Game Show Host that same year.
Having established himself as one of America’s most popular and loved weathermen, Roker embarked on a writing career. A father of three, Roker penned The New York Times bestseller Don't Make Me Stop this Car: Adventures in Fatherhood in 2001, examining his experience of becoming a parent. Having done a number of food segments over the years, Roker went on to author the cookbook Al Roker's Big Bad Book of Barbecue in 2002 and Al Roker's Hassle-Free Holiday Cookbook in 2003. Returning to the subject of parenting, Roker released a collection of true stories celebrating the joy fatherhood in the 2005 book, Big Shoes: In Celebration of Dads and Fatherhood.
After a lifelong struggle with his weight, Roker bravely underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2002, chronicling the surgery on “Dateline NBC” (NBC, 1992- ) in an effort to educate other Americans struggling with obesity. Previously weighing in at 320 pounds, Roker shed 100 pounds in the eight months following his surgery and continued to speak out publicly about his struggle with food and exercise. Branching out from his network career, Roker formed Al Roker Productions, a multimedia company through which he developed and produced a number of network, cable, home video, and public television projects. Producing a series of specials for the Food Network, Roker traveled across the country to host “Roker on the Road” (2003- ). He also produced a number of other series for NBC, PBS, A&E and Lifetime Television.