Joy Behar

Josephine “Joy” Victoria Behar, American comedian, actress, television host, and writer is perhaps most well known for her role as co-host on ABC’s talk show, The View. Born and raised in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, in 1942, Behar earned her BA in sociology from Queens College, and her MA in English from Stony Brook University. Following the completion of her degree, she went on to teach English at Lindenhurst Senior High School in Long Island, New York. In the 1980s she shifted her focus to building a career in show business. She began by studying acting at the HB Studio, and working as a receptionist at Good Morning America. It was there that she would later become a producer for the morning show. She eventually started to make appearances on ABC’s Good Morning America, and NBC’s The New Show. It was around this time that she also began making film appearances in films like Hiding Out, and Cookie. She continued to hone her skills in stand-up comedy, and eventually hosted a segment on The View called “Joy’s Comedy Corner”, where she featured the work of new and established comedians. In 1988 she earned a key role in the TV Series, Baby Boom, as Helga Von Haupt, the memorable nanny character in the series. She was simultaneously hosting a variety of talk shows, such as Way Off Broadway on Lifetime Television, and Live from Queens. The early 1990s would see her making appearances on the HBO comedy specials, One Night Stand and Women of the Night 2. Since becoming an ordained minister through the Universal Life Church in 2016, she has done multiple features on The View, where she has acted as an officiant on live television, and even documented her registration process at the New York City County Clerk’s office. In 2020, The View co-host would summon an engaged couple from the audience onstage for an impromptu marriage ceremony, rewarding the couple with a trip to Cabo San Lucas once the ceremony was complete!

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