Abby Huntsman

Early life and education

Huntsman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 1, 1986. She was raised in Utah but spent several years in Taiwan and Singapore during her father's foreign postings as a U.S. ambassador.

Huntsman graduated from East High School. She attended the University of Utah for her freshman year of college while her father was running for governor. She transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and communications.

Career

At age 16, Huntsman worked a behind-the-scenes position at Good Morning America. She disliked it so much that she contemplated giving up on television "forever". While attending the University of Pennsylvania, Huntsman interned with Diane Sawyer. Sawyer's representation of herself and manner of presenting news impressed her. "I always think of her as someone that I hope I can try to be like," she said in October 2015.

She later became a host and producer for HuffPost Live, the HuffPosts streaming network. She had also been a frequent guest on CNN.

Huntsman worked on her father's 2012 presidential campaign as a media advisor and surrogate, during which she and her sisters were profiled by The New Yorker, GQ, and BuzzFeed.

Huntsman appeared as a political commentator for ABC News in Washington, D.C. and Good Morning America in New York City.

In October 2012, Huntsman was profiled in ABC News's "Five Questions", a part of This Week with George Stephanopoulos. In August 2012, she was interviewed by Brian Williams on Rock Center about Mitt Romney's run for president and her own relationship with the Mormon faith. Previously, she held a position at the international public relations firm Burson-Marsteller.

In 2013, she was listed as number 26 on the Forbes 30 under 30 list of up and coming members in media.

In July 2013, Huntsman joined MSNBC's The Cycle, filling a vacancy created by the departure of former panelist S. E. Cupp. Huntsman was the second replacement host to join the show after Ari Melber. She sought to bring conservative views to the program, and denied that her relation to the Huntsman family had anything to do with her acquiring the position since she, in her own words, "went through the same audition process as everybody else", against a field she recalled featured several hundred candidates. Two years later, in July 2015, MSNBC canceled the show, and Huntsman left the network.

In October 2015, Huntsman was hired by Fox News as a general assignment reporter. She covered the news of the day across the network's daytime and primetime programming. Two months later, in December 2016, she was named a new co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend. On August 12, 2018, she made her final appearance as co-host of the program.

On September 4, 2018, Huntsman joined the long-running ABC talk show The View as one of five co-hosts along with Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, and Meghan McCain. In 2019, along with her co-hosts, she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host.

In January 2020, Huntsman announced that she was departing The View after two seasons to become a senior advisor to her father's 2020 campaign for governor of Utah; she made her final appearance as a co-host on the January 17, 2020 episode. Her father lost Utah's 2020 Republican gubernatorial primary to Spencer Cox.

Personal life

In August 2010, Huntsman married her University of Pennsylvania boyfriend, Jeffrey Bruce Livingston, in 2010 in an Episcopal service at Washington National Cathedral. The couple has three children: two daughters and a son, and live in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Huntsman is a Republican.

In early 2013, she recorded an advertisement with Margaret Hoover and Meghan McCain supporting same-sex marriage. "I think it's a generational issue, and I think over time you're going to see more and more Republicans support the freedom to marry. I'm happy and proud of that movement," she said in support of the ad.

In October 2016, she said she is no longer an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

References

References

1. (August 27, 2010). "Abigail Huntsman, Jeffrey Livingston". The New York Times.
2. Magid, Judy. (September 12, 2005). "Open House: Public mansion not always ideal". The Salt Lake Tribune.
3. (June 4, 2015). "MSNBC's Abby Huntsman: Cheese-loving dog owner who's 'walking back' her crush on Tom Brady". The Hill.
4. (2016). "Abby Huntsman and her husband Jeffrey Bruce Livingston nearing their 6th marriage anniversary".
5. (February 27, 2014). "Hitting for The Cycle".
6. "Abby Huntsman, C'08". University of Pennsylvania.
7. (January 13, 2020). "Q&A: Abby Huntsman says leaving 'The View' was a 'no-brainer'". [[Deseret News]].
8. Kahn, Mattie. (October 19, 2015). "ABBY HUNTSMAN THINKS FOX NEWS IS A GREAT PLACE TO BE A WOMAN". elle.com.
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11. (April 19, 2012). "Abby Huntsman: Mitt Romney won't pick dad, Jon Huntsman, to be VP".
12. Alex PappademasPhotographs by Danielle Levitt. "Jon Huntsman's Daughters, Mary Anne, Liddy, and Abby   ''GQ'' January 2012: Politics".
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14. (January 6, 2012). "The Huntsman Daughters: A Guide". Buzzfeed.com.
15. Sltrib.com. "Huntsman daughter parlays campaign into media gigs | The Salt Lake Tribune". Sltrib.com.
16. (October 26, 2012). "Five Questions 'This Week': Abby Huntsman   ABC News". Abcnews.go.com.
17. "Huntsman clarifies mysteries of Mormon church   Video on NBCNews.com". [[MSNBC]].
18. (December 2019). "PressReleases - Burson-Marsteller Hires Slate of Top Media". Burson-marsteller.com.
19. Bercovici, Jeff. "Abby Huntsman and Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, 26 and Hosts, ''HuffPost Live''   In Photos: 30 under 30: Media".
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21. Chariton, Jordan. (July 30, 2015). "MSNBC Cancels 'The Cycle,' Abby Huntsman and Krystal Ball Out".
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27. Corinthios, Aurelie. "Meghan McCain Absent from The View After John McCain's Death: 'Her Dad Was Her Best Friend'".
28. Grossman, Lena. (May 5, 2019). "Daytime Emmy Awards 2019: The Complete List of Winners".
29. (January 13, 2020). "Abby Huntsman quits 'The View'".
30. Johnson, Ted. (January 17, 2020). "Abby Huntsman Praises Colleagues, Addresses Discord "Rumors" In Sendoff From 'The View'".
31. Politico Staff. (July 6, 2020). "Huntsman loses GOP primary in Utah".
32. (August 27, 2010). "Abigail Huntsman, Jeffrey Livingston". [[The New York Times]].
33. Ali, Rasha. (June 6, 2019). "'The View' co-host Abby Huntsman gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl".
34. (June 2, 2021). "Abby Huntsman Says Leaving The View Was 'the Best Decision'". [[People (magazine).
35. Bloomgarden-Smoke, Kara. (July 17, 2013). "Abby Huntsman is Leaving HuffPost Live for 'The Cycle'". [[Observer Media]].
36. Gavin, Patrick. (August 8, 2012). "Abby Huntsman teases party switch".
37. "Meghan McCain, Margaret Hoover and Abby Huntsman star in GOP gay marriage ads". On Top Magazine.
38. (October 19, 2016). "661: Abby Huntsman and Carrie Sheffield and their Transitions Out of Mormonism".