Joan Lunden

Award-Winning Journalist, Women's Health & Wellness Advocate & Breast Cancer Survivor

Joan Lunden

Award-Winning Journalist, Women's Health & Wellness Advocate & Breast Cancer Survivor

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Biography

Joan Lunden is an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, television host, and motivational speaker who has been a trusted voice in American homes for more than fifty years. For nearly two decades, she greeted viewers each morning on Good Morning America, becoming the longest-running female host in early morning television history. Throughout her career, Lunden has championed issues related to health, caregiving, and aging. She hosts the PBS television series Second Opinion with Joan Lunden and the Washington Post podcast Caring for Tomorrow, which explores the future of healthcare. Lunden is a spokesperson for Longevity Life+ a precision care program focused on genomics and disease prevention, and she also serves as an ambassador for the Poynter Institute's MediaWise for Seniors initiative. Lunden has also served as a visiting professor at Lehigh University's College of Health, where she taught Population Health and the Media.

In June 2014, Lunden was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. Ever the optimist, she turned her diagnosis into a mission to help others, becoming a powerful advocate for breast cancer awareness, testifying before the Food and Drug Administration in support of mandatory mammogram reporting, and before the Connecticut State Legislature on breast exam insurance coverage. She chronicled her cancer journey in her book, Had I Known: A Memoir of Survival.

As a member of the sandwich generation, Lunden is a mother of seven and like many boomers, she has balanced a demanding career while also caring for an aging parent. This experience fueled her passion as an advocate for seniors. In 2020, Lunden testified before the Congressional House Ways and Means Committee in support of expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act to include senior caregiving needs.

A multiple New York Times best-selling author, her most recent book, Joan: Life Beyond the Script, offers her most personal and revealing work to date. In it, Joan shares the untold stories behind her groundbreaking career, the realities of being one of the first women to break through the glass ceiling in television news, the challenges of balancing ambition with motherhood, and the lessons she's learned through reinvention, advocacy, and perseverance. The book has been praised for its honesty, humor, and heartfelt reflection, giving audiences an even deeper appreciation for the woman behind the public persona.

Lunden has served as national spokesperson for numerous organizations including the American Heart Association, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, American Lung Association, American Red Cross, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Colon Cancer Alliance. She continues to connect with audiences daily through her social media platforms and her website.

Joan Lunden remains one of America's most recognized and trusted public figures, inspiring generations with her warmth, resilience, and authenticity.

Lunden’s books include: Joan: Life Beyond the Script / Why Did I Come into This Room: A Candid Conversation About Aging / Had I Known: A Memoir of Survival / Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Caregiving / Growing Up Healthy: Protecting Your Child from Diseases Now Through Adulthood / Wake-Up Calls; Making the Most Out of Every Day / A Bend in the Road is Not the End of the Road; 10 Positive Principles for Dealing with Change / Joan Lunden’s Healthy Living; A practical, inspirational guide to creating balance in your life / Joan Lunden’s Healthy Cooking / and Good Morning, I’m Joan Lunden.

Speaker Videos

Joan Lunden 2025

Joan Lunden Addressing a Women's Summit

10th Annual FNIH Awards Ceremony

Fight Like a Warrior

Don't Limit Your Possibilities

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Speech Topics

Leadership & Success

From small-town weather girl to co-host of the top morning TV show in the country, Joan discusses leadership and strategies for success drawn from her personal journey to the top. With insights from the most successful people in the world, Joan shares her discoveries, including her say “yes” attitude.

Had I Known: My Breast Cancer Journey

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, Lunden shares her personal journey why she decided to go public with her breast cancer battle, what she learned, the breast cancer myths she discovered, and risk factors women need to know about. Lunden takes you through the hard decisions she had to make, and the silver linings she came across along the way.

The New Mid Life: A Candid Conversation About Aging

Life expectancy in the 1930's was 59; today, people live beyond 100. Now that people live longer than ever, it's time to redefine middle age. People in their 50s and 60s still live a vibrant, active lifestyle, and many are delaying retirement. In her most candid keynote yet, Joan delves into the various phases of aging with wit and humor. Through her poignant and often hilarious personal experiences, she candidly shares her anxieties, breakthroughs and how she copes with the realities of age. Joan will also explore the science of aging as it impacts the mind, body, and soul, further dispelling commonly heard myths. Taking care of your health has become essential in enjoying your golden years and Joan shares how to age well, how diet and exercise can keep you healthy, and the relationships and social networks you have are equally important. With her experience as a senior caregiver in mind, she urges you to think ahead, and prepare for the journey.

The Media: Are They Telling The Truth Or Making It Up?

It’s her expert take on what’s going on with the media today. When Joan was the host of Good Morning America, no one ever knew what her opinion was on a topic. For example, one time she was interviewing Tipper Gore (wife of Vice-President Al Gore) and rocker, Frank Zappa. Tipper believed that certain albums should be kept under the shelves so younger kids didn’t have access to them. Frank Zappa clearly disagreed with this! After the interview, no one knew what Joan thought.

Nowadays, the media has drastically changed. With TV hosts (such as Tucker Carlson) giving their opinions on every story, people don’t know what’s true or if something is being made up!

And with the 2024 elections around the corner, this topic is more and more timely.

Strategies for Success: Women’s Path to Power & Reinvention

Lunden shares how much times have changed for women over the past 50 years, the obstacles they have had to overcome, and having experience in constantly reinventing herself and her career Joan gives advice on how to use reinvention as a tool for success.

The Patient’s Perspective

Lunden shares what she learned through her personal experience as a cancer patient and what she learned from the thousands of patients and survivors who reached out to her through her website and social media. Lunden tells of the fears a patient harbors, the hard decisions a patient has to make during the battle to save their life, the lies we all tell to our doctors, and the importance of screenings that can save people lives.

Health Topics

Heart Health: When Joan was 39, she realized she had many cardiovascular disease risk factors. She knows the importance of putting yourself first and the changes she made to protect herself from heart disease.

Breast Cancer: When Joan was diagnosed with breast cancer, she set out to learn everything about it to help her survive. She discusses the battle, what she learned, and the risk factors women need to know about.

Diabetes: Joan shares the personal story of her brother, who died from complications of diabetes, and how to be proactive and protect your health when it comes to this disease as well as other chronic illnesses.

From Career to Caregiving and Everything in Between

66 million Americans are caregivers for someone they love, and that is 30% of the U.S. population. Some experts are predicting that figure will triple over the next decade. A longer life expectancy has led to an increased demand for family members to serve as caregivers. Being a part of the sandwich generation Joan had to take care of her aging mother while still raising two sets of young twins and managing her career. From this experience, Joan quickly launched a large portion of her career into the dedicated space of “caregiving.” It is without doubt this is the next health crisis facing our country. Joan shares her personal experience of caring for her 93-year-old mother while still working and raising young children. Joan shares what she has learned about how to be prepared for caregiving so you can avoid getting overwhelmed when a crisis happens.

Joan Lunden: Moderator & Event Host

Joan Lunden is no stranger to the spontaneity of a live appearance. As the longest-running host of Good Morning America, Joan has over 30 years of expertise as a journalist, host, and interviewer. Lunden leads panels on a wide variety of topics, including the role of women in media, health & wellness, breast cancer & genetics, boomers, caregiving, and success & empowerment.

Lunden is a seasoned veteran and is known for making panelists feel comfortable with her warmth and her natural way of guiding a discussion. If you have a client looking for an experienced moderator for their next event, Lunden has an unparalleled ability to bring her own insight to a panel discussion, while skillfully navigating the personalities of many experts on one stage.

For a complete listing of Ms. Lundens speaking topics, please inquire with an APB Agent.

Testimonials

"Numerous ladies have shared their enthusiasm and gratefulness for Joan’s incredibly meaningful and inspiring visit, along with her dispensing excellent advice! [O]ur mammogram center has been flooded with phone calls! We all thank you for coming to Richmond and assisting us with raising important research funds while providing education - the BEST of both passions we all share! So very glad we met!"

- VCU Massey Cancer Center, Virginia

"I would like you to know that Joan Lunden inspired one of the attendees at our Oncology Symposium to get her long overdue mammogram…Lo and Behold it was positive. She was an early stage but still need surgery [and treatment]. She is absolutely convinced that if she did not attend this symposium, she would not have gotten this exam…and who knows when she would have followed thru. Joan makes a difference."

- Executive Administrative Director, Hoag Family Cancer Institute

"Joan skillfully and graciously made the audience feel at ease while also delivering a very interesting and informative speech. It was a pleasure working with Joan and her team."

- Heidi Farber Hospice of Southern Maine

"I wanted to tell you how WONDERFUL Joan's speech was yesterday! I am continuing to hear rave reviews from throughout our community, from healthcare professionals, cancer survivors, those currently in treatment and interested community members. She completely exceeded my expectations (which were really high!) I particularly enjoyed hearing about her 10 principles for happiness and all of the stories about her career trajectory as well as tips for working moms and work/life balance - very motivating for me as a working mom with a 5 and 7 year old. There were actually more men there than we expected and they thoroughly enjoyed it as much as the women!"

- Executive Director of Jewish Family Service of Tidewater, Inc.

"Joan was wonderful—I wish she could hear all of the positive feedback. Richmond women love Joan Lunden!!"

- VCU Massey Cancer Center, Virginia

Joan “hit it out of the park!” We absolutely loved her and appreciated the work she did in preparing her remarks. It really resonated with our attendees.

- Event Organizer for Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy

"We were thrilled to have Joan Lunden speak to the Virginia MGMA. She was warm, friendly and knowledgeable as she shared her insights into the 10 traits of highly successful people. Everyone loved it."

- Virginia Medical Management Group Association

"The women of Greenville are STILL talking about your visit—you made quite an impact on our community and brought such positive energy to us. I cannot thank you enough for your generous spirit and kindness—to say the least, you've left big shoes to fill in the years to come."

- Women to Women

"Ms. Lunden’s participation drew a huge crowd of over 200 participants to the inaugural event, and she electrified the room with her inspiring life story and commitment to women’s health and wellness. She is an incredibly engaging and thoughtful speaker, and her participation was a critical component to the success of the event."

- COO, JCC Rockland

"On behalf of everyone at Lafayette, I would like to express our appreciation for your exceptional contribution at Commencement. Your speech was both inspiring and completely relevant to our graduates as they look to life after college. I have heard from a great many of our students, faculty, and staff that your speech was outstanding and much appreciated."

- President, Lafayette University