Josephine Victoria "Joy" Behar (;

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Occhiuto; born October 7, 1942) is an American comedian, television host, and actress. She co-hosts the ABC talk show '' The View'', on which she has appeared since the beginning of the series. For her work on ''The View'', Behar won a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

in 2009. She hosted '' The Joy Behar Show'' on HLN from 2009 to 2011 and '' Joy Behar: Say Anything!'' on

Current TV Current TV was an American television channel which broadcast from August 1, 2005, to August 20, 2013. Prior INdTV founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, with Ronald Burkle, each held a sizable stake in Current TV. Comcast and DirecTV each held a small ...

, from 2012'Joy Behar: Say Anything' to premiere Sept. 4
. until the channel switched formats in August 2013. Behar's latest weekly late-night talk show, '' Late Night Joy'', aired on

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

in 2015. She also wrote ''The Great Gasbag: An A–Z Study Guide to Surviving Trump World''.

Early life

Behar was born Josephine Victoria Occhiuto in 1942 in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independe ...

, the only child of a Roman Catholic family of Italian descent, hailing from Sant'Eufemia d'Aspromonte,

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

. Her mother, Rosa Diane "Rose" (''née'' Carbone), was a seamstress, and her father, Louis Ferdinand "Gino" Occhiuto, was a truck driver for

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

. Behar earned a BA in sociology from Queens College in 1964 and an MA in English education from

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

in 1966. From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, she taught English on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

at Lindenhurst Senior High School in Lindenhurst, New York. She studied acting at the

HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency prog ...

Career

Career beginnings

Behar started her career in show business in the early 1980s as a receptionist and later a producer on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

''. She was a stand-up comedian and made appearances on ABC's ''

'' and '' The New Show'', a short-lived

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian and American television writer and film producer. He created and produced ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and produced the ''Late Night (franchise) ...

NBC project. In 1987, she hosted a variety talk show on Lifetime Television called ''Way Off Broadway'' that included

Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...

as a writer and performer. She also hosted the show ''Live from Queens''; was a regular on NBC's ''

Baby Boom A baby boom is a period marked by a significant increase of births. This demography, demographic phenomenon is usually an ascribed characteristic within the population of a specific nationality, nation or culture. Baby booms are caused by various ...

''; and continued to work the comedy club circuit. She had minor film roles including ''

Cookie A cookie is a sweet biscuit with high sugar and fat content. Cookie dough is softer than that used for other types of biscuit, and they are cooked longer at lower temperatures. The dough typically contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of ...

'', '' This Is My Life'', and '' Manhattan Murder Mystery''. In the early 1990s, she hosted a talk-show on 77 WABC radio in New York City. She also made appearances on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

comedy specials '' One Night Stand'' and ''Women of the Night 2''.

''The View''

In 1997, Behar became one of the original panelists of the ABC daytime talk show '' The View'', which was co-created by

Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (September 25, 1929December 30, 2022) was an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, she appeared as a host of numerous television programs, ...

. Behar originally appeared only on the days when Walters was off, but she ultimately became a permanent co-host. Behar occasionally hosted a segment called "Joy's Comedy Corner" in which she presented both established and up-and-coming comedians. In August 2009, Behar and the other co-hosts, Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Sherri Shepherd, and Walters, won a

for Outstanding Talk Show Host following over a decade of nominations for the show. On March 7, 2013, it was announced that Behar would be leaving the show at the end of that season. She told '' Deadline'', "It seemed like the right time...You reach a point when you say to yourself, 'Do I want to keep doing this?' There are other things on my plate I want to do — I've been writing a play, I've been neglecting my standup". Her last show was on August 9, 2013, in which the program staged a '' This Is Your Life''-style tribute to Behar. After departing in 2013, Behar continued to guest co-host throughout 2014 and 2015. On August 25, 2015, ABC announced that Behar would return as a regular co-host starting with the premiere of the 19th season on September 8, 2015. Behar was quoted as saying, "Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in. Plus, Steve was getting tired of applauding every time I gave my opinion. But I'm happy to be back home. And I'm looking forward to sticking my two cents into the hot topics, especially now that Hillary and the Donald are in the spotlight." In 2018, while analyzing television personality Omarosa's comments in regards to U.S. Vice President

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

's religiosity, Behar stated: "It's one thing to talk to Jesus, it's another thing when Jesus talks to you. That's called mental illness, if I'm not correct, hearing voices." Content analysis organization Media Research Center subsequently launched a campaign demanding an apology from Behar and urging viewers to do the same, resulting in 40,000 calls to ABC as well as 6,000 complaints to the show's advertisers. Pence himself responded and accused the show of expressing "religious intolerance".

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

CEO

Bob Iger Robert Alan Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American media executive who is chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company. He previously was the president of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) between 1994 and 1995 and p ...

later stated that Behar had directly apologized to Pence. On March 13, 2018, she issued an apology on air, stating: "I think Vice President Pence is right; I was raised to respect everyone's religious faith, and I fell short of that. I sincerely apologize for what I said."

''The Joy Behar Show''

Beginning in 2007, she occasionally filled in as a guest host on ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' is an American television talk show broadcast by CNN from June 3, 1985 to December 16, 2010. Hosted by Larry King, it was the network's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Ma ...

''. On June 11, 2009, Behar announced that she would be hosting her own news/talk program on CNN's HLN beginning in the fall of 2009, titled ''The Joy Behar Show''. She did not leave ''The View'' but worked on both shows simultaneously. Despite reportedly being the network's second-highest-rated show, HLN decided to cancel the talk show after only two years. The final broadcast of ''The Joy Behar Show'' aired on December 15, 2011.

''Joy Behar: Say Anything!''

In 2012, Behar began hosting another talk show, '' Joy Behar: Say Anything!'', on the

network. It premiered September 4, 2012. Before the new show's launch, Behar began acting as fill-in host for Eliot Spitzer's Current TV talk show, '' Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer'', starting on July 18, 2012. The show ended in August 2013 after Current TV was sold to

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

; the channel was replaced by Al Jazeera America.

''Late Night Joy''

Behar's short-lived weekly late night talk show, '' Late Night Joy'', premiered on

on November 4, 2015. Each episode features Behar having intimate chats with friends in her New York City apartment. It was cancelled after 5 episodes.

Other work

Behar has performed in theatrical plays, including ''The Food Chain'', '' The Vagina Monologues'', and '' Love, Loss and What I Wore''. She has also performed in an Off-Broadway one-woman show entitled ''Me, My Mouth and I''. She has written multiple books, such as a collection of humorous essays and stories called ''Joy Shtick — Or What is the Existential Vacuum and Does It Come with Attachments?'' and a children's book called ''Sheetzucacapoopoo: My Kind of Dog'', published in 2006. She appeared on the eighth season of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown and finished in fourth place, behind Robin Tunney, Christopher Meloni and

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known professionally as Macy Gray, is an American contemporary R&B, R&B and soul music, soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influence ...

, but ahead of Andy Dick. On October 27, 2017, Behar appeared as a guest on ''

Real Time with Bill Maher ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' is an American television talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by stand-up comedy, comedian and political satire, political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous series ''Politically Incorrect'' on Comedy ...

''. Behar portrayed the role of Dr. Lucy in the 2011 comedy film '' Hall Pass''. She also recurred in

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

's Amazon series, '' Crisis in Six Scenes''. Behar's debut play premiered in 2025 in New York City

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

, '' My First Ex-Husband''.

Personal life

Behar married college professor Joe Behar in 1965. They divorced in 1981. They have one daughter, Eve Behar Scotti. Behar has a grandson named Luca. Behar began to date Steve Janowitz in 1982; they married in 2011. Behar resides in

The Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End (Long Island), East End of Long Island, consist of the town (New York), towns of Southampton (town), New York, Southampton and East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, which together compose the South Fork ...

. She also owns a home on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. She is a Democrat.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Bibliography

Behar has authored several books, including several children's books: * ''The Great Gasbag: An A–Z Study Guide to Surviving Trump World'' (2017) * ''Sheetzucacapoopoo 2: Max Goes to the Dogs'' (2009) * ''When You Need a Lift: But Don't Want to Eat Chocolate, Pay a Shrink, or Drink a Bottle of Gin'' (2007) * ''Sheetzu Caca Poopoo: My Kind of Dog'' (2006) * ''Joy Shtick: Or What Is the Existential Vacuum and Does It Come with Attachments'' (1999)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *
ABC News: Joy Behar on Faith Part OneABC News: Joy Behar on Faith Part Two
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Behar, Joy 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American essayists American film actresses American voice actresses American stand-up comedians American women comedians Women stand-up comedians American women television journalists American television news anchors American television reporters and correspondents American television talk show hosts Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host winners CNN people Current TV people Comedians from Brooklyn American children's writers Actresses from Brooklyn Journalists from New York City Writers from Brooklyn New York (state) Democrats American agnostics Schoolteachers from New York (state) Queens College, City University of New York alumni Stony Brook University alumni Washington Irving High School (New York City) alumni American writers of Italian descent American people of Italian descent People from Lindenhurst, New York People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn 1942 births Living people