Joy Behar

Background

Joy Behar, or Josephine Victoria Behar, is one of the most popular comics of today. She is a distinguished voice on stage and in film while performing stand-up, and interviewing politicians and artists. She was born on October 7, 1942, into an Italian-American family in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Gino Occhiuto, was a Coca-Cola Company truck driver, while her mother, Rose Occhiuto née Carbone, worked as a seamstress. Behar is the only child of her parents. Her zodiac sign is Libra. She had a joyful childhood and showed a flair for comedy when she was only two years old. Behar graduated from Queens College with a B.A. in sociology and from Stony Brook University with an M.A. in English education in 1966. She was an English teacher from the late 1960s to the early 1970s and went to the H.B. Studio to study acting.

Behar began her career in show business as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s, appearing on A.B.C.’s “Good Morning America” and Lorne Michaels’ N.B.C. project “The New Show.” After leaving G.M.A. in 1983, she began to perform in prestigious clubs like Carolines and Catch a Rising Star, receiving great reviews for her performances. She appeared on N.B.C.’s “The New Show” in 1984 for a limited time. She returned to “Good Morning America” later that year, this time as a guest star. “Way Off Broadway,” Behar’s talk show on Lifetime Television, premiered in 1987. Her new career path began in 1988 when she played Helga Von Haupt in the hit N.B.C. sitcom “Baby Boom.” In the early 1990s, her reputation continued to rise, and she was cast in Nora Ephron’s film “This is My Life” (1992) and Woody Allen’s “Manhattan Murder Mystery” (1994). She also made her stage debut during this time, participating in off-Broadway blockbusters, including “The Food Chain” (1995) and “The Vagina Monologues” (1996). She joined the A.B.C. daytime talk show “The View” in 1997. She was one of the original panelists. In May of 1999, Behar published her first book, “Joy Shtick: Or What Is the Existential Vacuum and Does It Come with Attachments?” After a decade of being nominated, Behar won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host in August 2009. Behar is most known for her role as co-host on “The View.” Despite the show having a multi-generational group of women co-hosting, Behar is perhaps its most renowned member, having served for 16 years without interruption before taking a break in 2013. She hosted “The Joy Behar Show” on H.L.N. from 2009 to 2011, and “Joy Behar: Say Anything!” on Current T.V. from 2012 until August 2013. “Late Night Joy,” Behar’s new weekly late-night talk show, began on T.L.C. on November 4, 2015. She has authored several books, including a collection of satirical essays and stories and a children’s book, “Sheetzucacapoopoo: My Kind of Dog,” published in 2006.

From 1965 to 1981, Behar was married to college professor Joe Behar. Eve Behar Scotti is their daughter. Her grandson’s name is Luca. In 1981, the couple divorced. Behar established a long-term relationship with schoolteacher Steve Janowitz in 1982, referring to him as her “spousal equal.” They married on August 11, 2011, after 29 years of being together.