Al Roker's 3 Kids: All About Courtney, Leila and Nick

For Al Roker, family is everything.

The Today the forecaster became a father for the first time in 1987 when his daughter Courtney, 37 – who he shares with ex-wife Alice Bell – was born. After divorcing Bell in 1994, Roker married Deborah Roberts in 1995 and the couple had two children: daughter Leila, 25, and son Nick, 21.

In 2022, a long time The TV personality shared how his own father “informed” the way he raised Courtney, Leila and Nick.

“I tend to put my dad on a little bit of a pedestal. He had his flaws and all his problems, but one of the things I always remember and try to do is that he really was my biggest advocate,” Roker told PEOPLE.

With his children grown, Roker has plenty to be proud of: his oldest, Courtney, married in 2021; his youngest, Nick, began his college career in 2022; and his second daughter, Leila, is building her own media career.

Deborah Roberts Instagram

Here’s everything you need to know about Roker’s three children, Courtney, Leila and Nick.

Courtney Roker, 37

Courtney Roker Laga Instagram

Roker shares a daughter, Courtney Melissa Roker, with ex-wife Bell, whom he was married to from 1984 to 1994. Courtney was born in May 1987.

She currently works as a test kitchen manager and develops recipes for the kitchen appliance brands Chefman and CHEF iQ. Courtney often posts photos of her creations on Instagram and is a self-proclaimed “sushi lover.”

Courtney got engaged to her now-husband Wesley Laga in April 2020. Following the engagement news, Roker revealed the cute way Laga asked for his blessing before proposing to Courtney.

“He texted me, ‘Can we meet? There’s something I want to talk to you about,'” Roker recalled on Today show, adding that he “had an inkling” of what Laga wanted to ask him. “We went to a local restaurant in our neighborhood that we enjoyed, The Simone, and our friend Tina Vaughn — who owns it — gave us a corner table for some privacy. And he asked my permission there.”

Roker continued, “I told her fiance it’s a lot of work. But it’s all worth it.”

Al Roker/Instagram

Courtney and Laga were married on June 4, 2021 at The Ashford Estate in New Jersey. Younger sister Leila was Courtney’s maid and quite a few of the Rokers Today co-stars also attended the nuptials, including Kotb, Dylan Dreyer, Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones.

“Last night was beyond anything I could have imagined,” Courtney wrote on Instagram after the wedding. “I celebrated my love for my husband and felt everyone’s love. My heart is filled with happiness and joy. And I must say my husband’s dance moves are not too shabby 😆. Now on to the honeymoon ❤️.”

In March 2023, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child.

“A new adventure is about to begin ❤️🍼,” Courtney captioned the sonogram video on Instagram. In the comments, Roker said: “Let’s go!!! So very very happy!!!!! Let’s go for Pop-Pop.”

After the big announcement, Roker revealed that he first found out about Courtney’s pregnancy from his brother-in-law. “Wes’ goofy brother accidentally dropped that in the text,” Kotbu said during the episode Today. “Thanks, Cory.”

Al Roker / Instagram

Courtney’s baby girl, Sky Clara Laga, was born on July 3, 2023. A week later, Roker opened up about his granddaughter in an episode of Today.

– It’s magical, it’s real – said the proud grandfather. “The thing is, everyone tells you it’s going to be ‘this thing’ and you don’t know; it’s like being told you’re going to have your first child. And then holding this little girl, knowing that almost 35 years ago I held by her mom? And here she is, 5 pounds, 15 inches and just perfect.”

Leila Roker, 25

Leila Roker Instagram

Roker’s second child and first with Roberts, Leila Ruth Roker, was born on November 17, 1998. She grew up in New York and attended LaGuardia High School. Leila continued her education at the American University of Paris, studying journalism and fine arts before graduating in May 2021.

At only 25 years old, Leila has quite an impressive resume. She has interned at several fashion organizations, including L’Oréal and Lela Rose, and has contributed to publications such as Forbes and WWD.

In 2021, she went to Japan to work as a production manager for Peacock at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Of course, Roker was also in the host country covering the Olympics for NBC. “My middle girlfriend, Leila, is the head of production for a primetime show on the Peacock and has always wanted to do this,” Roker told PEOPLE at the time.

Although it may have been Leila’s first time working at the Olympics, she is no stranger to the Games. As a child, Leila and her siblings would join Roker and Roberts (who is an ABC News correspondent) on business trips related to the Olympics.

Roker added about Leila: “She was at the Salt Lake Olympics for 3 years [in 2002] and she was really fascinated by the production managers.”

Jim Spellman/WireImage

Leila has also used her platform to fight for equality and share her personal experiences as a woman of color. Following the death of George Floyd and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement across the country, Leila spoke with PEOPLE about the fight against racism.

“It took me a few days to try to process what I was feeling,” Leila recalled after learning of Floyd’s death in 2020. “Later I decided to write about it and provide a millennial perspective because I think there’s a lot to be said about the desensitization that affects our generation. I wanted to tell others that it’s okay to say that what’s happening is horrible because people are violently taken away from my black friends talked about trying to express to their non-black friends as well: this is how we feel.”

She also shared this advice with PEOPLE: “You can no longer surround yourself with people who think things are fine now. It’s more important than ever to hold people accountable if you want to see real change.”

Nick Roker, 21

Deborah Roberts Instagram

Roker welcomed their third child, son Nicholas Roker, on July 18, 2002. Shortly after Nick’s birth, Roker and Roberts began to notice developmental delays, and according to Today anchor, Nick is “somewhere on the spectrum and may be obsessive-compulsive.”

Over the years, Roker spoke loudly about the difficulties in raising a child with special needs. “We knew that from the beginning [Nick] would face completely different challenges,” he said Road signs magazine in 2019. “The obstacles in this child’s path were things that could have tripped up many others. Not Nick, not even with the disability he was born with.”

Roker added, “I can’t take credit for who Nick is and who he could become. Various experts can tell you the limitations of this and that. Nick never got that message.”

The meteorologist often brags about Nick’s many talents and accomplishments — of which the college freshman has plenty. He has a black belt in Taekwondo and began training for a marathon (although Roberts said he later “changed his mind.”) When Nick was 16, he won two gold medals at the Special Olympics New York Summer Games in the 25-yard dash. butterfly and 50 meter freestyle swimming races.

“He’s very goal-oriented and a great kid,” Roker said of Nick in 2020. “Like many parents who have children with special needs [know], may try your patience. Not that they intend to or anything like that. I look at him and everything he does and I want to be a better person.”

Deborah Roberts Instagram

Nick is also active in his local church, St. James, and gave a sermon to the community ahead of his graduation in 2022. “Today I’m 19 years old and I’m about to graduate from high school,” Nick said in a clip shared by dad Roker on Instagram. “I have a learning disability and I’ve worked hard to get to this point. This past semester I earned all A’s on my report card.”

He continued: “It feels really good, but my achievements weren’t just about school. They were also about perseverance here at St. James. …I’ve always felt loved and supported here.”

Unsurprisingly, Roker was a beaming dad and said he “couldn’t be more proud” of his son.

Nick started his freshman year of college in August 2022. “Pride cannot even describe this day, Nick Roker. The journey continues,” Roberts wrote on the day Nick moved into his dorm.

Al Roker Instagram

In May 2024, Nick and Roker treated Roberts to dinner and a concert on Mother’s Day. The trio dined at New York’s Café Boulud before watching Kathleen Battle perform at the Metropolitan Opera.

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Source: HIS Education