The following article mentions an eating disorder, mental health struggles, and suicide.
It was certainly not an overnight trek.
She worked at various stations in the Midwest before “GMA” came calling in 2011.
Oh, but that’s not all.
She has also written numerous books and juggles raising a family alongside her thriving career.
Here is a look at the stunning transformation of “GMA’s” Ginger Zee.
Born Ginger Zuidgeest, Zee changed her surname for television.
This is where the star spent her formative years, during which she developed a fascination with weather.
“My mom told us to get inside, but I was mesmerized.
I really thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen.”
“She really stood out to the members and everybody.
She is nice all the time,” her former boss toldMLivein 2017.
Zee’s parents, Robert Zuidgeest and Dawn Zuidgeest-Craft, divorced when she was only 7.
The big changes that followed such as moving and making new friends were hard on Zee.
“I needed to control something.
“I’m so angry that that’s the way I decided to cope.
It’s going to be with me my entire life.”
“It was to scare me, basically,” Zee toldPeople.
“There were girls who were on their way to death.
‘That one will die tomorrow,’ she’d say.
Zee soon entered therapy, which started her road to recovery.
She also received guidance from her stepfather, Carl Craft, who taught her about nutrition.
Early into her college career, a professor reiterated that Zee should consider a career in broadcasting.
“I found an absolute admiration of weather on television,” Zee said to TheWeather Junkies.
She later interned with renowned TV meteorologists Tom Skilling and Peter Chan, also during university.
For instance, Zee was diagnosed with narcolepsy when she was a 21-year-old college student.
“I don’t think my parents could have been educated enough to recognize it or see it.”
“Making the decision to move east for work was difficult,” she toldMLive.
“I’ve always put my career first and it has been difficult on my personal life.
I am very fortunate that my boyfriend sticks with me through all of this.”
At the time, Zee was dating “Storm Chasers” host Reed Timmer.
That’s a long story,” Aaron recalled of their first meeting, onMax Cool.
“Finally, I got her home.
We said our goodbyes, and at this point I was a goner.
Absolutely this was the girl that I wanted.”
“It really does change the way you look at life.”
That said, Ginger Zee was not the first nor last reporter to compete.
Stellar dancing was a huge factor, but so too was the meteorologist’s joyful demeanor and extreme vulnerability.
She credits the show with motivating her to write her first book.
Zee’s memoir, “Natural Disasters: I Cover Them.
The program documented the renovation of the couple’s 1,800-square-foot fixer upper in the New York City suburbs.
The reno thing was old hat for Zee, who had previous experience, but not Aaron.
“He had no idea, seriously, how to hold a hammer,” Zee toldMLive.
