Asunción Cummings Hostin, born October 20, 1968, known professionally as Sunny Hostin, is an American lawyer, columnist, journalist, and television host. Hostin is co-host on ABC's morning talk show The View, as well as the Senior Legal Correspondent and Analyst for ABC News. She is also the host and executive producer of Investigation Discovery's true crime series Truth About Murder with Sunny Hostin.
Hostin was born in New York City to a Puerto Rican mother, Rosa Beza, and an African American father, William Cummings. Her maternal grandfather was of Sephardic Jewish descent. Hostin was raised in the Bronx, New York City, attended the all-girls Dominican Academy, and is fluently bilingual in English and Spanish. She received her B.A. degree in English and Rhetoric from Binghamton University and her J.D. degree 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 U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. Hostin left the Antitrust Division to become a federal prosecutor, specializing in child sex crimes. Hostin was awarded a Special Achievement Award for her successful prosecution of sex offenders. Hostin was also a Managing Director of Business Intelligence and Investigations at Kroll, the world’s leading risk-consulting company, where she led groups of investigators all over the world to investigate and uncover fraud.
She began her television career as a commentator for Court TV and 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. CNN President Jon Klein signed her to the network in September 2007 as the legal analyst for its flagship morning show American Morning. In 2014, Hostin began frequently appearing as a guest contributor on the ABC daytime talk show The View. In 2015, Hostin participated in a TEDx Talk titled A Possibility Model that details the effects of an early trauma. 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 Girls Trip.
As of 2019, Hostin hosts and executive produces the six-episode documentary series titled 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 hosts a podcast titled Have You Seen This Man?, produced by ABC.
Hostin married orthopedic surgeon Emmanuel Hostin, in August 1998. She lives with her husband and their two children, Gabriel, born on August 15, 2002, and Paloma, born on May 5, 2006, in Purchase, New York. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. In 2018, Hostin spoke of having been a target of racist taunts.
In 2017, Hostin was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host (shared with Joy Behar, Jedediah Bila, Candace Cameron Bure, Paula Faris, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, and Raven-Symoné) for her work on The View.
In 2018, Hostin was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host (shared with Joy Behar, Jedediah Bila, Paula Faris, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, and Meghan McCain) for her work on The View.
And again in 2019, Hostin was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host (shared with Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Abby Huntsman, and Meghan McCain).
