Star Jones, a lawyer, journalist, and television personality, boasts a net worth of $12 million. She is best known as one of the original co-hosts on the morning talk show “The View.” Jones later hosted her own talk show, “Star Jones,” on truTV and competed in the fourth season of “The Celebrity Apprentice.” Additionally, she has guest-hosted various cable programs, including “House Hunters” and “Larry King Live.”
| Star Jones Net Worth | $12 Million |
| Date of Birth | Mar 24, 1962 |
| Place of Birth | North Carolina |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Lawyer, Journalist, Television Personality |
Early Life
Star Jones was born in 1962 in Badin, North Carolina, and was raised in Trenton, New Jersey, by her mother, a human services administrator, and her stepfather, who worked in municipal security. She attended Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, before enrolling at American University in Washington, DC, where she earned a BA in administration of justice. Jones later obtained her JD from the University of Houston Law Center and was admitted to the New York state bar in 1987.
Jones served as a prosecutor with the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, for five years before being promoted to senior assistant district attorney. In 1991, she was recruited by Court TV to commentate on the William Kennedy Smith rape trial. She later served as a legal correspondent for NBC’s “Today” and “Nightly News” and hosted the court show “Jones & Jury” in 1994, making history as the first Black person and first female to arbitrate a television courtroom series. She also covered the O.J. Simpson murder case in 1995 as the chief legal analyst on “Inside Edition.”
The View
Jones began her most notable television role in 1997 as one of the original co-hosts of ABC’s morning talk show “The View,” alongside Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Meredith Vieira, and Debbie Matenopoulos. The show features a panel of women discussing current news topics and interviewing major figures, including politicians and celebrities.
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During her nine-season tenure on “The View,” Jones often attracted controversy. After significant weight loss beginning in 2003, she faced criticism for claiming she lost the weight through diet and exercise when she had actually undergone gastric bypass surgery. Jones also faced backlash for excessively promoting brands that provided services for her 2004 wedding to Al Reynolds. It was later revealed that Jones did this to receive free services and products for the ceremony. Her departure from “The View” in 2006 was also controversial; she announced her intentions to leave two days ahead of schedule and released an article in People magazine claiming ABC had declined to renew her contract.
“Star Jones” on truTV
After leaving “The View,” Jones became the executive editor of daytime programming on truTV and hosted her own talk show, “Star Jones,” covering current news in entertainment, law, and popular culture. However, the show was canceled by truTV after six months for being “too serious” for the channel’s tabloid-focused programming.
Other Television Appearances
Jones has made numerous television appearances over the years. From 2004 to 2005, she served as a red carpet host on the E! network, conducting interviews at awards shows. She has also guest-hosted cable programs, including HGTV’s “House Hunters,” CNN’s “Larry King Live,” and Oxygen’s “The Bad Girls Club” reunion episode.
As an actress, Jones debuted on the season eight finale of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” as a Brooklyn prosecutor and later played a judge on the legal series “Drop Dead Diva.” She has also appeared on reality competition shows “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” and “The Celebrity Apprentice,” finishing in fifth place on the latter.
Career as an Author
Jones has authored several books. Her first, an autobiographical essay collection titled “You Have to Stand for Something, or You’ll Fall for Anything,” was published in 1998. This was followed by “Shine: A Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Journey to Finding Love” in 2006 and “Satan’s Sisters” in 2011, a fictionalized account of “The View.” The latter book inspired a short-lived television series called “Daytime Divas,” which aired on VH1 in 2017. Jones was an executive producer of the show and appeared as herself in one episode.
Personal Life
In 2004, Jones married investment banker Al Reynolds, who had proposed at the NBA All-Star Game, but they divorced in 2008. In 2017, she got engaged to former Cook County assistant state’s attorney Ricardo Lugo, and they married aboard a cruise ship in the Bahamas the following year.
Jones is actively involved in philanthropy, particularly through the National Association of Professional Women (NAPW). She created the NAPW Foundation, benefiting organizations such as the American Heart Association and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Additionally, Jones serves as the president of the Professional Diversity Network and is a member of its board of directors.
Star Jones Net Worth
Star Jones net worth is $12 million.
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