Al Roker is also known as “pop-pop” to his first grandchild, Sky Clara Laga

Al Roker is a proud grandfather to his granddaughter, Sky Clara Laga.

The Today show anchor’s older daughter, Courtney Roker Laga, and her husband, Wesley Laga, welcomed their daughter Sky in July 2023 — and she has profoundly impacted her grandfather’s life.

Since Sky was born, Roker has shared how much he loves being a grandpa and the different ways she has influenced him for the better.

“It is magical, it really is,” Roker said on the Today show after her birth. “The thing is, everyone tells you it’s going to be ‘this thing’ and you don’t know.”

He continued, “It’s like when they tell you about having your first child. And then to hold this little girl, knowing almost 35 years ago I held her mom? … she’s just perfect.”

 

Here’s everything to know about Al Roker’s granddaughter, Sky Clara Laga.

She was born in July 2023

Courtney and Wesley became parents for the first time when they welcomed Sky on July 3, 2023.

A day later, Roker shared the first photo with his new granddaughter on Instagram alongside a sweet caption. “And then this little girl came into my life,” he wrote. “Welcome to the world, Sky Clara Laga. In love all over again.”

Roker added, “Thank you, Courtney and Wes for such a perfect blessing. [Your] baby is beautiful. Already planning the ways to spoil her and then hand her back.”

Her name has a sentimental meaning

There is special significance behind Sky’s middle name: Clara is “the name of Courtney’s grandma,” Roker said while talking about his granddaughter on Today.

Although it seems like it would only make sense that Sky’s first name is somehow related to her grandfather’s profession, Roker insisted that it “had nothing to do with the fact that I’m a weather person.”

She surprised Roker before her birth

After Courtney and Wesley announced that they were expecting their first child in March 2023, Roker revealed the unexpected way he learned the news a few months prior.

“Wes’ goofy brother accidentally dropped it in a text. Thanks, Cory,” the meteorologist quipped to his Today co-anchors.

In a twist, two months later, Roker was so excited to be a grandfather that he accidentally let it slip that Courtney was having a girl.

During a May 2023 interview with Entertainment Tonight, he said, “Courtney is expecting our first granddaughter,” before correcting himself and saying “grandchild” instead.

In the same interview, he also admitted to ET that the accidental slip-up was similar to the way he found out Courtney was having a girl. Roker explained that he had wanted to wait until the baby was born to be surprised by the sex, but his older daughter revealed it in a mesage instead.

“She [texted] me a sonogram picture and I said, ‘That baby looks just like you,’ and she said, ‘Doesn’t she?’ And then you see the bubbles. “[She goes] ‘I’m so sorry!’ and I went, ‘You had one [job]!’ ”

She’s close with her grandpa

Sky has formed a close relationship with her grandfather — and they do a lot together.

In October 2023, Roker had his first solo overnight visit with Sky. Afterward, he shared a series of photos from their time together, including pictures of them snuggling and taking walks.

“The perfect weekend,” he wrote in the caption. “Thanks to @ouichefroker and @thatteacherwhodjs for letting me babysit my little Sky Clara over the weekend. I forgot how hard a 3+ month old is on your own. 24 hours without a shower. Whew.”

In June 2024, during an episode of Today, Roker revealed that “the best part of Father’s Day this year is that I’m a grandfather.”

While reflecting on the new life chapter, he admitted that he didn’t fully understand the role until Sky was born. Roker also described raising a grandchild as “pure joy,” saying, “There’s no responsibility, other than you want them to be safe and happy.”

They spend most holidays together

Aside from overnight visits and babysitting adventures, Roker and Sky are often together on big holidays.

In November 2023, Sky attended her first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. In a photo on Instagram — which included Roker, Sky, Courtney, Wesley, Roker’s wife Deborah Roberts and son Nicholas Roker — the family posed while at the parade.

“My little Sky’s first @macys #thanksgivingdayparade,” the Today star wrote in the caption.

When speaking to PEOPLE at the Root 100 Gala in New York City in December 2023, Roker opened up about how excited he was to spend Christmas with Sky. “It’s gonna be a different kind of Christmas,” he said. “So, very excited.”

“I think for us it’s really just family,” Deborah added about their plans. “It’s really all about family and our family is so spread out that we don’t have to gather as much as we’d like to during the year. So this year it really is just about tight-knit.”

In April 2024, Roker shared photos on Instagram of the family celebrating Sky’s first Easter. In another Instagram post from that same day, he uploaded a picture of the family sitting around the table with the caption, “Been awhile since I made an Easter meal. Having family around make the effort all the more worth it.”

Sky helped Roker get through his health journey

Roker has navigated several health complications over the past several years.

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020 and underwent surgery. Two years later, he found out he had blood clots in his lungs and underwent surgery again, followed by more procedures on his colon and a gallbladder removal.

In November 2023, Roker spoke about his health with Entertainment Tonight and said Sky was one reason he’s gotten through everything.

“I’m doing great, doing great. I tell you, the thing that’s kept me going is I’ve had a new granddaughter,” he said.

“If I had known they were this much fun, I would’ve had them first,” Roker joked. “It’s the best.”

She’s a happy baby who loves to eat

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In a June 2024 essay he wrote for PEOPLE, Roker opened up about his health journey, saying that he was grateful that the early detection of his prostate cancer allowed him to be in Sky’s life. “I love spending time with my granddaughter,” he wrote. “She’s well-loved.”

Roker also added some tidbits about what kind of baby she is, saying Sky is “very content” and loves to eat.

“And by the way, has a very good palate,” he added. “I was just with her this past weekend, and I was feeding her … I had a salad and she was eating some anchovies and olives and some grapefruit.” Roker also added that she “likes savory very much.”

When speaking about what it’s like to be a grandfather to Today.com the following month, he said, “I’ve seen a lot of babies. I’ve had my own babies. And I’ve just never seen a kid this happy.”

The weatherman also revealed that she’s been on the move since around the time of her first birthday in July 2024. “This past weekend she started crawling at our house and it’s like, ‘Oh this is fantastic!’ ” he recalled.

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