Gregory was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Carolyn Surtees, an account manager, and Don Gregory, a film and theatrical producer. He was raised Jewish.

Gregory graduated from American University in 1992. While there, he worked for the campus television station, ATV, and received a degree in International Studies from the School of International Service. Gregory was named the School of International Service's alumnus of the year in 2005 and sits on the Dean's Advisory Council.

Early career

Gregory began his journalism career at the age of 18 as a summer reporter for KGUN-TV in Tucson, Arizona. He also worked for NBC affiliate KCRA-TV in Sacramento. He then worked behind the scenes at NBC in Washington D.C.

Today

Gregory has been the substitute co-anchor of Weekend Today, filling in for Lester Holt on that program since 2003. He has filled in for Matt Lauer on Today from 2005 to the present. Gregory was also the anchor of News Chat, Crosstalk NBC, and Newsfront on MSNBC from 1998 to 2000.

NBC Nightly News

Gregory has also filled in on NBC News Weekend Nightly News and NBC Nightly News since 2005.

Imus in the Morning

Gregory also filled the Imus in the Morning time slot on MSNBC after the Don Imus controversy involving the Rutgers University basketball team while MSNBC searched for a permanent host. He served as a guest host in the morning time slot for MSNBC (while also being simulcast on WFAN) for one week in May. The morning radio program was known as Gregory Live.

Race for the White House/1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

From March 17, 2008, through December 5, 2008, Gregory hosted a show on MSNBC weekday evenings, which replaced Tucker Carlson's Tucker. The show was called Race for the White House until the conclusion of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. From November 5, 2008, forward the show became known as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. David Shuster was named as the new host for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue starting with the December 15, 2008 show.

MSNBC anchor for election coverage in 2008

Due to internal fighting among the talent at MSNBC, Gregory was appointed as anchor on MSNBC during the Presidential debates and the 2008 election. On November 4—5, he teamed with Rachel Maddow, Eugene Robinson, Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann to cover the presidential election.

Meet the Press

On December 7, 2008, it was formally announced that Gregory would be the full-time moderator of Meet the Press, with his first episode as official moderator being December 14, 2008. This would also be the last episode hosted by interim moderator Tom Brokaw.

In the wake of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's admission that he travelled to Argentina to visit his lover during June 2009, The Post and Courier obtained cell phone records and emails in response to a request under the state Freedom of Information Act. Among the emails were numerous invitations for Sanford to appear on various television shows, including emails from David Gregory. Gregory told Sanford's press secretary "You know he will get a fair shake from me and coming on MTP puts all of this to rest" and "coming on Meet The Press allows you to frame the conversation how you really want to...and then move on." Gregory later denied offering Sanford a "friendly forum", but rather a "fair forum", and stated: "I meant my forum allows him to have the time to discuss the situation in a fullsome way, to say what he wants and move on.".

Gregory was assigned by NBC to the press corps covering George W. Bush when he ran for president in 2000. During the campaign, Bush threw a party for Gregory's 30th birthday, complete with cake, on the campaign plane. Bush has nicknamed Gregory "Stretch" because of his height (6'5"), and also "Dancing Man," for Gregory's occasional propensity to display his dance moves.

After the election, Gregory became a White House correspondent for NBC. The Media Research Center named him 'Best White House Correspondent' for his coverage of Bush's first 100 days. Gregory held this position until taking the Meet the Press job in December 2008. Chuck Todd was named to replace him as White House correspondent on December 18, 2008.

It has been mentioned that Michael Chertoff, a Bush appointee, attended a baby shower for his children.

He also participated with Karl Rove, Bush's chief advisor, in a skit for the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington DC.

Press Secretary conflicts

Gregory's interaction with Bush's Press Secretaries has been contentious at times, garnering media attention in several instances. Conservative commentators have seized these opportunities to characterize Gregory's reportage as proof of the news media's left-wing bias. Gregory has told Howard Kurtz that "it's easy to divert attention against a familiar whipping boy" and that "I provide fodder for critics who say, 'Aha, they're out of control.'"

On December 7, 2006, Gregory posed a question regarding the Iraq Study Group Report, asking how Bush could view the report's content as anything but a "rejection of the President's policy". Press Secretary Tony Snow then responded that Gregory had framed the question in a partisan manner, and Snow did not answer it. Several media outlets, such as Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, used the exchange as evidence that NBC's coverage was taking a more partisan attitude towards the Bush administration.

On January 23, 2009, The Daily Beast columnist Ana Marie Cox stated that President Barack Obama still has not discovered "this administration's David Gregory". She used Gregory as a metaphor for a White House foil, and she described this as a figure that could be interpreted as either "tough, news-oriented, and no-nonsense or showy, superficial, and self-indulgent".

Since June 2000, Gregory has been married to former federal prosecutor and former Fannie Mae executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, Beth Wilkinson. They met while Gregory was covering the Oklahoma City bombing as a reporter and Wilkinson was serving as prosecutor on the case. The couple has a son and twins — one daughter and one son.