Josephine Victoria "Joy" Behar[1] (/ˈbeɪhɑːr/; née Occhiuto; born October 7, 1942) is an American comedian, television host, and actress.

Behar was born Josephine Victoria Occhiuto in 1942 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the only child of a Roman Catholic family of Italian descent, hailing from Sant'Eufemia d'Aspromonte, Calabria.

Her mother, Rosa Diane "Rose" (née Carbone), was a seamstress, and her father, Louis Ferdinand "Gino" Occhiuto, was a truck driver for Coca-Cola.

[5][6][7] Behar earned a BA in sociology from Queens College in 1964 and an MA in English education from Stony Brook University in 1966.

[11] She was a stand-up comedian and made appearances on ABC's Good Morning America and The New Show, a short-lived Lorne Michaels NBC project.

In 1987, she hosted a variety talk show on Lifetime Television called Way Off Broadway that included Larry David as a writer and performer.

[12][13][14] She also hosted the show Live from Queens; was a regular on NBC's Baby Boom; and continued to work the comedy club circuit.

In 1997, Behar became one of the original panelists of the ABC daytime talk show The View, which was co-created by Barbara Walters.

[16] Behar occasionally hosted a segment called "Joy's Comedy Corner" in which she presented both established and up-and-coming comedians.

"[25] Content analysis organization Media Research Center subsequently launched a campaign demanding an apology from Behar and urging viewers to do the same, resulting in 40,000 calls to ABC as well as 6,000 complaints to the show's advertisers.

[27] On March 13, she issued an apology on air, stating: "I think Vice President Pence is right; I was raised to respect everyone's religious faith, and I fell short of that.

Behar has performed in theatrical plays, including The Food Chain, The Vagina Monologues, and Love, Loss and What I Wore.

[37][38][39] She has written multiple books, such as a collection of humorous essays and stories called Joy Shtick — Or What is the Existential Vacuum and Does It Come with Attachments?

[37][40] She appeared on the eighth season of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown and finished in fourth place, behind Robin Tunney, Christopher Meloni and Macy Gray, but ahead of Andy Dick.