Sunny Hostin

Hostin was born on October 20, 1968, in New York City to a Puerto Rican mother, Rosa Beza, and an African American father, William Cummings.^[2][3] Her maternal grandfather was a Sephardic Jew.^[4]

In 2024, on the PBS series Finding Your Roots, Hostin learned that she has a large amount of Spanish ancestry, is a descendant of Spanish colonizers and her fourth great-grandfather was a slave trader.^[5][6] She is 7 percent indigenous Puerto Rican. ^{[citation needed]}

Hostin was raised in The Bronx, New York City, attended the all-girls Dominican Academy, and is bilingual in English and Spanish.^[3][7] She received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Rhetoric^[8] from Binghamton University and a Juris Doctor from Notre Dame Law School.^[9]

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.^[10] Hostin left the Antitrust Division to become a federal prosecutor, specializing in child sex crimes.^[11]

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.^[12] Hostin was then offered a spot on the Fox News program The O'Reilly Factor,^[7] where she appeared on the show's "Is It Legal?" segments, regularly debating with Bill O'Reilly and Megyn Kelly.^{[citation needed]} She signed with CNN in September 2007 as the legal analyst for its morning show American Morning.^{[citation needed]} In March 2016, it was announced that Hostin was joining ABC News as Senior Legal Correspondent and analyst.^[13] She became a permanent co-host of The View beginning the show's twentieth season in September 2016.^[14] In 2017, Hostin made a cameo appearance as herself in the comedy film Girls Trip.^[15]

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.^[16] She also hosted a podcast titled Have You Seen This Man?, produced by ABC.^[17] Hostin released I Am These Truths, a memoir, in 2020.^[18] The following year, she released a novel, titled Summer on the Bluffs.^[19] The book was to be adapted into a television series.^[20] Hostin is also set to executive-produce The Counsel, a drama television series inspired by her life and career.^[21]

Hostin is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc..^[22] She is married to Jewish orthopedic surgeon Emmanuel Hostin.^[23] 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.^[24]

They have two children, a son and daughter.^[25] The family resides in the hamlet of Purchase in the town of Harrison, New York;^[23] and own a second home in the Martha's Vineyard community of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts.^[26] Hostin is Catholic.^[27]

• New Yorkers in journalism
• Nuyorican
• Puerto Ricans in New York City