Sunny Hostin

Early life

Hostin was born on October 20, 1968, in New York City to a Puerto Rican mother, Rosa Beza, and an American father, William Cummings. Her maternal grandfather was a Sephardic Jew. On the PBS program Finding Your Roots, Hostin learned that she has a large amount of Spanish ancestry and that she is a descendant of Spanish colonizers, with her fourth great-grandfather being a trader of slaves. Hostin was raised in The Bronx, New York City, attended the all-girls Dominican Academy, and is bilingual in English and Spanish. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Rhetoric from Binghamton University and a Juris Doctor from Notre Dame Law School.

Career

Hostin began her career as a law clerk to retired Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals Robert M. Bell and later became a trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division. Hostin left the Antitrust Division to become a federal prosecutor, specializing in child sex crimes.

She began her television career as a commentator for Court TV and began using the stage name "Sunny Hostin" after host Nancy Grace was unable to pronounce "Asunción" and asked if she had a nickname she could use instead. Hostin was then offered a spot on the Fox News program The O'Reilly Factor, where she appeared on the show's "Is It Legal?" segments, regularly debating with Bill O'Reilly and Megyn Kelly. She signed with CNN in September 2007 as the legal analyst for its morning show American Morning. In March 2016, it was announced that Hostin was joining ABC News as Senior Legal Correspondent and analyst. She became a permanent co-host of The View beginning the show's twentieth season in September 2016. In 2017, Hostin made a cameo appearance as herself in the comedy film Girls Trip.

In 2019, Hostin hosted and executive-produced the six-episode documentary series Truth About Murder With Sunny Hostin on Investigation Discovery, on which she travels to various parts of the US to explore the stories behind some of the nation's most notorious homicides. She also hosted a podcast titled Have You Seen This Man?, produced by ABC. Hostin released I Am These Truths, a memoir, in 2020. The following year, she released a novel, titled Summer on the Bluffs. The book was to be adapted into a television series. Hostin is also set to executive-produce The Counsel, a drama television series inspired by her life and career.

Views

In a discussion on The View, Hostin said that Latino voters who did not support Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election did so out of sexism and misogyny. In another discussion on The View, she also claimed that "uneducated white women" were to blame for Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 election. In another discussion on The View, Hostin claimed that Patrick Mahomes' wife, Brittany, should have known that it was "problematic" to support "a racist" for president, given that she is in an interracial marriage. Additionally, Hostin has repeatedly claimed that Trump won the 2024 election due to sexism and racism and has claimed that January 6th was one of the worst moments in American history, comparing it to World War II, slavery and the Holocaust.

Personal life

Hostin is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. She is married to orthopedic surgeon Emmanuel Hostin. In January 2025, he was among 199 defendants accused of insurance fraud in a civil lawsuit filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in New York.

They have two children, a son and daughter. The family resides in the hamlet of Purchase in the town of Harrison, New York; and own a second home in the Martha's Vineyard community of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. Hostin is Catholic.

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. The View. (May 24, 2016). "Paula Faris Says Kris Jenner Has An "Ulterior Motive" In Plan To Change Name Back To "Kardashian"".
2. (October 14, 2019). "Celebrity birthdays for the week of Oct. 20-26". [[Associated Press]].
3. Pulia, Shalayne. (September 21, 2018). "The View's Sunny Hostin Wants You to Start Believing Women".
4. Cole, Harriette. (August 23, 2021). "Journalist and Lawyer Sunny Hostin on Identity, Achievement and Passion". [[AARP]].
5. (February 6, 2024). "The View star Sunny Hostin 'in shock' as Finding Your Roots reveals family owned slaves".
6. (February 7, 2024). ""Finding Your Roots:" "The View" host Sunny Hostin learns Spanish ancestors owned slaves".
7. Yarnell, Laurie. (September 24, 2018). "The View's Sunny Hostin Talks Life On and Off the Camera".
8. "Sunny Hostin '90 and Following Your Dreams".
9. McKeegan, Colleen Leahey. (May 20, 2019). "Sunny Hostin Shares the Shocking Reason She Ended Up On TV".
10. Yarnell, Laurie. (September 24, 2018). "The View's Sunny Hostin Talks Life On and Off the Camera". Westchester Magazine.
11. Real, Evan. (October 18, 2019). "Sunny Hostin on Taking a Different Approach to True Crime With 'Truth About Murder'".
12. [https://deadline.com/2024/02/the-view-sunny-hostin-changed-spanish-name-nancy-grace-struggled-1235818201/ 'The View's Sunny Hostin Says She Changed Her Spanish Name After Nancy Grace Asked Her To: "She Struggled, Every Take"]
13. (February 24, 2016). "Sunny Hostin Joins ABC News as Senior Legal Correspondent & Analyst". [[ABC News (United States).
14. (September 6, 2016). "'The View' Co-Hosts, Co-Executive Producer Talk Staffing Rumors, Lessons Learned".
15. (August 18, 2017). "'Girls Trip' Crosses $100 Million at Domestic Box Office". [[Variety (magazine).
16. (April 9, 2019). "Sunny Hostin Will Host 'The Whole Truth' on Investigation Discovery". [[Variety (magazine).
17. Minutaglio, Rose. (October 23, 2019). "A New ABC Podcast is Trying to Find Escaped Murderer Lester Eubanks". [[Elle (magazine).
18. (September 22, 2020). "Sunny Hostin on "Taking a Risk" in New Memoir to Champion People of Color".
19. (May 4, 2021). "Sunny Hostin's Summer on the Bluffs a 'Love Letter to Black, Latina Women'". [[People (magazine).
20. (May 4, 2021). "'The View' Co-Host Sunny Hostin Launches Inclusive Production Company Focused on Social Justice". [[Variety (magazine).
21. (October 28, 2020). "Fox Nabs 'The Counsel' Drama From Sunny Hostin & Scott Free With Penalty".
22. Nieto, Phillip. (2024-11-07). "Sunny Hostin Blasts Latino Men as Sexist, Bizarrely Calls for GOP 'Postmortem' After Trump Coasts to Victory".
23. "'View' star Alyssa Farah Griffin snaps as Sunny Hostin says 'misogyny' led to Latinos voting Trump".
24. Lewis, Ray. (2024-11-07). "'The View' host claims 'misogyny and sexism' drove Latino Texans to vote for Trump".
25. (2024-11-08). "'The View's Sunny Hostin Under Fire After Unfiltered Comments About Election Directed at Women".
26. Cote, Jacqueline Burt. (2024-11-08). "'The View's Sunny Hostin Under Fire After Unfiltered Comments About Election Directed at Women".
27. Panreck, Hanna. (2024-09-18). "'The View' host attacks Brittany Mahomes for indicating support for Trump: 'She's in an interracial marriage'".
28. Chandler, Joey. (2024-09-19). "Chiefs star's wife taking more heat for 'problematic' support of 'racist' Donald Trump".
29. Decider. (2024-09-18). "'The View's Sunny Hostin Sounds Off On Taylor Swift's BFF Brittany Mahomes #shorts".
30. Panreck, Hanna. (2024-11-18). "'The View' co-hosts clash after Sunny Hostin attributes Trump win to racism and misogyny".
31. "'View' stars clash once again over Donald Trump voters, Whoopi Goldberg steps in: 'Calm down'".
32. Panreck, Hanna. (2025-01-06). "Sunny Hostin likens January 6 riot to the Holocaust, says we can 'never forget'".
33. (January 21, 2020). "Sunny Hostin Turned Childhood Trauma Into Triumph".
34. (April 11, 2018). "The View's Sunny Hostin Gives a Tour of Her Historic Mansion Previously Owned by the Lehman Family".
35. Bellusci, Olivia. (2025-01-13). "'The View' co-host sets the record straight on lawsuit against husband".
36. (June 21, 2019). "'View' co-host Sunny Hostin slams Bethenny Frankel for accusing her of 'taking some drugs'". [[USA Today]].
37. Egan, Elisabeth. (May 20, 2021). "When Your Name Is Sunny (Hostin), Your Beach Read Belongs on the Best-Seller List".
38. Sharf, Zack. (June 27, 2022). "'The View' Co-Host Sunny Hostin Doesn't Believe in Abortion or 'Any Exception,' Even Incest, but Disagrees With Supreme Court".
39. Evans, Greg. (March 22, 2017). "2017 Daytime Emmy Nominations: CBS Leads Networks With 70 Noms, 'Young & Restless' Tops With 25".
40. Montgomery, Daniel. (March 21, 2018). "2018 Daytime Emmy nominations: Full list of nominees for 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards".
41. (March 20, 2019). "The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Announces Nominations for the 46th Annual Daytime Emmy® Awards".
42. (May 21, 2020). "Daytime Emmy Awards: 'General Hospital' Tops Nominations".
43. (June 24, 2022). "Daytime Emmys 2022 Winners List". [[Variety (magazine).
44. (April 18, 2024). "2024 Daytime Emmys: List of nominees, including Dick Van Dyck, more". [[USA Today]].