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On January 9, Gayle King celebrated 11 years as cohost of CBS Mornings. The feat marks a decade of journalism on a show that’s earned her multiple Emmy awards and has been chosen to receive the 39th Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism.
Gayle honored the milestone by wearing the very same color-blocked yellow dress she debuted on her first day on the show back in 2012. Rocking the brightly colored frock has become an annual anniversary tradition for our editor at large. Just before she and her cohosts celebrated with cupcakes, the CBS team showed a sweet tribute–a video montage of some of Gayle's 2022 highlights from covering the midterm elections to seeing Harry Styles in concert.
As for managing to still fit into the dress after 11 years? CBS wardrobe stylist James W. Swift delicately asked Gayle if she tried it on. To that, Gayle said, “I’m just praying to sweet Black baby Jesus that it fits.” Gayle explained why the Alexandra Kramer–designed number was intentionally created in her favorite color. “Yellow is my happy place,” she said. “I wanted to feel happy on that day.”
The 68-year-old also took to Instagram to reflect on the anniversary. “Nope @nateburleson is NOT proposing … he ‘be’ very happily married! But ELEVEN great years @cbsmornings is worth celebrating! My anniversary dress gets another showing on this day only! Cupcakes for EVERYBODY!! Thanx CBS!!! Ps @tonydokoupil not here ONLY becuz COVID test came in before we went on air & now he is reluctantly off for next few days …no symptoms and he’s fine COVID still messin’ stuff up (ugh).”
Last year, Gayle stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and spoke about how she got started at the network, which at the time was led by CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht. Coincidentally, Licht was the showrunner of the formerly named CBS This Morning, where he hired Gayle in 2012.
“I would not be here at CBS if it wasn’t for Chris Licht,” Gayle told Colbert. “He saw something, and we had a really good team for a very long time. I remember that first day being very nervous. Not that I was worried about ‘Could I do the job?’ because I thought I could do it, but I just wanted it to be great. You know that feeling when you want something so badly and you want to be good at it? That’s what I wanted.”
The powers of manifestation were clearly on the journalist’s side, as she’s gone on to have countless impactful and memorable moments on the network. Gayle has interviewed the likes of President Obama, Bruce Springsteen, Drew Barrymore, Celine Dion, and more. She has also covered history-making moments, such as traveling to London for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral and meeting with Brittney Griner’s wife, Cherelle, months prior to Griner’s release. And we can’t forget Gayle’s viral interview with a disgraced R. Kelly, which led to her inclusion on the 2019 Time 100 list.
Closing out the show, Gayle said, “Here’s to another 11, I hope.” She paused for a second to ask herself: “Can I hope for another 11 years? Yes, I can.” Congratulations, Gayle!
McKenzie Jean-Philippe is the editorial assistant at OprahMag.com covering pop culture, TV, movies, celebrity, and lifestyle. She loves a great Oprah viral moment and all things Netflix—but come summertime, Big Brother has her heart. On a day off you'll find her curled up with a new juicy romance novel.
