Joy Behar

Joy Behar (born Josephine Victoria Behar) is an Emmy-winning comedian, actress and television host best known as one of the original panelists on ABC’s The View. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Queens College and went on to receive a master’s in English education from Stony Brook University. Before entering the entertainment industry, she worked as a high school English teacher.

Behar began her show business career in the early 1980s as a receptionist for Good Morning America, where she was later made a producer. In 1991, she began hosting her own talk show, Way Off Broadway, which featured comedian Larry David as a frequent performer.

The comedian gained national recognition in 1997 when she joined The View as one of its original cohosts. Behar became known for her outspoken commentary and earned a Daytime Emmy Award in 2009 for Outstanding Talk Show Host alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Sherri Shepherd and Barbara Walters.

In addition to the long-running talk show, the Emmy winner has acted in films such as Madea Goes to Jail (2009) and Hall Pass (2011) and on shows such as Nashville and Spin City.

Behar married college professor Joseph Behar in 1965. They divorced in 1981 and share one daughter, Eve Behar Scotti (born in 1970). In 2011, she married longtime partner Steve Janowitz after nearly 30 years together.