Joy Behar (christened Josephina Victoria Occhiuto) was born on October 7, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York. She is an American comedian and co-host of the talk show The View. Behar holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Queens College. She is a former New York City teacher with a Master of Arts degree in English Education from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Before her current success in daytime TV, Behar was well known as a skilled stand-up comic who peppered her shows with sardonic feminist, political and social complaints. Her comfortable, conversational, bold and exuberant stage presence, along with her easy rapport with audiences is her distinctive trademark. Typical of her frankness about herself and her life off stage, she stated in an interview that her motivation to commit herself to her comedy career began after nearly dying during the birth of her only daughter.

On The View, Behar is best known for her witty comments during the segment "Hot Topics." Originally Behar only appeared on the days when Barbara Walters was off; soon she became a regular co-host, with the panel expanding to five when Walters joined in. Behar often hosts a segment called "Joy's Comedy Corner," in which she presents up-and-coming comedians.

Behar stands left side of the political aisle and is in favor of stem-cell research and same-sex marriage, among other traditional progressive positions. She has expressed her opposition to the war in Iraq and her dislike of Medicare's coverage of Viagra prescriptions. When conservative Fox news commentator Bill O'Reilly contentiously claimed on The View that it was a mistake for Rosie O'Donnell to come out as gay and predicted that both her career and Ellen Degeneres's would spiral downward because of it, Behar was the lone challenging voice. She replied that 'someone has to take those risks order for there to be change in society.'

More of her wide ranging views are covered in this revealing interview on PR.com with Joy Behar.

Behar has appeared in a number of films including Cookie, with Peter Falk; a guest appearance in The Stepford Wives; and This Is My Life, which was directed by Nora Ephron. She fulfilled a lifelong dream of acting in a movie with Woody Allen when she appeared in Manhattan Murder Mystery. Behar has also made successful theater appearances in The Food Chain and The Vagina Monologues.

Behar wrote a book of humorous essays and stories called Joy Shtick - Or What is the Existential Vacuum and Does It Come with Attachments?, published in 1999.

In 2003, Behar became a spokesperson for Jenny Craig. She lost 23 pounds in 11 weeks on the program. She no longer is a spokeperson for the company.

Behar frequently incorporates her Italian-American culture into her comedy and once told Charlie Rose on his PBS program that her grandmother kept a picture of Mussolini in her home. She is mistakenly thought to be Jewish, and has quipped that she is pleased to be "an honorary Jew."

Her first husband was actually a Sephardic Jew (by whom she has one daughter), but that marriage did not last. Behar wryly referred to herself on one occasion as the "shiksa non grata" of his family. Behar's long-time boyfriend, Steve, is also Jewish. She once carried the Jewish issue to an amusing extreme, as she reported a phone conversation she had: "No, I'm not Jewish. I'm not Jewish. I keep telling you, Ma, I'm not Jewish!". (To students of humor, this is an example of a "comedic triple").

For three years, Behar hosted a political radio show on WABC. Before her career as a comedian, she was a teacher and a phone receptionist at Good Morning America.

Trivia

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Behar appeared on the 8th season of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, and finished in 4th place, behind Robin Tunney, Christopher Meloni, and Macy Gray, and ahead of Andy Dick. She played for the US fund for UNICEF.

1943 births | Living people | Italian-Americans | Roman Catholic entertainers | American television talk show hosts | Stand-up comedians