Lara Christine Von Seelen is an American television presenter. She is best known for being the co-anchor for ABC's Good Morning America. She is also a correspondent for Nightline and ABC News. Previously, she was the host of the syndicated entertainment newsmagazine The Insider from 2004 to 2011, and was a regular contributor to CBS's The Early Show. Before then, she was the national correspondent for Good Morning America and spent several years as a lifestyle reporter for WABC-TV. She also hosted Antiques Roadshow on PBS for the 2004 and 2005 seasons, and Antiques Roadshow FYI, a spin-off of Antiques Roadshow, during 2005. She hosts the show Flea Market Flip on both HGTV and the Great American Country channel. In April 2018, Spencer announced she would be only appearing on GMA three days a week to focus on her television producing.
Biography
Spencer grew up in the New York suburb of Garden City, Long Island, where she graduated from Garden City High School in 1987. She attended Pennsylvania State University on an athletic scholarship for springboard and platform diving and was a nationally ranked competitive diver. She was named an All American Athlete in 1991, her senior year, and graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism. Following college, Spencer went into the NBC page program where she would volunteer to work with other reporters in order to gain experience. From there, she landed a position at the CBS affiliateWDEF-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she "was literally a one-man band", serving as reporter, producer, editor, cameraman and news-van driver. A year later, she joined News 12 Long Island and two years following that she was anchoring the 3 AM newscast for WABC-TV. While there, she covered the TWA Flight 800 crash, which was considered her big break. She then joined ABC's Good Morning America in 1999 as a national correspondent. Spencer married former CNNfn journalist David Haffenreffer on September 30, 2000 at St. Andrew's Dune Church in an Episcopal ceremony. The couple have two children, Kate and Duff. They lived in the Riverside section of Greenwich, Connecticut. In March 2015, the couple announced that they had separated and they were divorced in June 2015. In 2014, Spencer was named grand marshal at Penn State's Homecoming 2014. In 2017, Spencer hosted the limited series People Icons. Spencer announced in January 2018 that she was engaged to New York tech entrepreneurRichard McVey. Spencer first met McVey after a mutual friend set them up on a blind date. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of MarketAxess, a publicly traded financial technology company. On September 1, 2018, Spencer and McVey married in an outdoor ceremony in Vail, Colorado.
Television producer
Spencer was the creator and executive producer of the prime timegame show, It's Worth What?, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, which aired during the summer of 2011 on NBC. Spencer has also created and produced two shows based on her passions for interior designing, which were a one-hour special titled I Brake for Yard Sales that originally aired in April 2012 on HGTV, and a flea market-themed television series currently airing on Great American Country called Flea Market Flip.
Other work
Spencer's first book, titled I Brake for Yard Sales, a guide on how to create high-end looking rooms using second hand finds, was published and released in April 2012. In September 2013, she along with Chris Harrison hosted the 87thMiss America pageant at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in which Spencer had replaced Brooke Burke-Charvet. The pageant was broadcast on ABC on September 15, 2013. She later returned to co-host Miss America 2015 with Harrison on September 14, 2014. Her second book, titled Flea Market Fabulous: Designing Gorgeous Rooms with Vintage Treasures, a guide on designing rooms and homes, was published and released on September 16, 2014.
Controversy
In August 2019, Spencer's comments about six-year-old Prince George of Cambridge enjoying ballet classes were interpreted by some as offensive, causing public backlash. Spencer issued an Instagram apology stating "I fully believe we should all be free to pursue our passions," and later apologized on-air during an interview with three professional male dancers.
