Is Star Jones a Real Judge? – Biography
Star Jones is an American lawyer, journalist, television personality, fashion designer, author, and advocate for women’s rights and diversity. She is best known as one of the first co-hosts of the ABC morning talk show The View, which she hosted for nine seasons, beginning in 1997-98 and ending in 2005-06. She was also one of sixteen contestants on the fourth season of The Celebrity Apprentice, finishing fifth.
Star Jones Education
Jones received his high school diploma from Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. She received a B.A. in Administration of Justice from American University, where she was initiated into the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority’s Lambda Zeta chapter. Jones graduated from the University of Houston Law Center with a J.D. in 1986 and was admitted to the New York state bar in 1987.
Star Jones Age
She is 61 years old as of 24 March 2022. She was born on 24 March 1962 in Badin, North Carolina, United States. Her birth name is Starlet Marie Jones.
Star Jones Husband
On November 13, 2004, Jones married investment banker Al Reynolds. Jones was proposed to by Reynolds during the 2004 NBA All-Star Game. The wedding was held in front of 500 guests at Saint Bartholomew’s Church in New York City and featured three matrons of honor, twelve bridesmaids, two junior bridesmaids, three best men, twelve groomsmen, three junior groomsmen, six footmen, four ring bearers, and four flower girls. More than thirty corporate “sponsors” donated wedding attire and merchandise in exchange for media coverage and mentions on Jones’ website.
Jones used the name “Star Jones Reynolds” professionally after the wedding, but reverted to “Star Jones” in 2007, telling Entertainment Weekly that she wanted to keep her public persona separate from her private self. Jones and Reynolds announced their divorce on March 9, 2008. Jones announced her engagement to Ricardo Lugo, who previously worked in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, on October 24, 2017. According to a spokesperson for the State’s Attorney’s Office, Lugo worked as an assistant state’s attorney from April to August. He was one of 17 prosecutors who were laid off due to county budget issues. On March 25, 2018, Jones married Ricardo Lugo on a cruise ship in the Bahamas.
Star Jones Family
Jones grew up in Trenton, New Jersey, with her mother, a human services administrator, and her stepfather, a police officer.
Star Jones Weight Loss
Jones later underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2003, but she never revealed it on The View, instead claiming she was given “a medical intervention” and using the show to promote the benefits of diet and exercise. As a result of the procedure, she lost 160 pounds. Jones underwent cardiac surgery on March 17, 2010, in connection with a thoracic tumor surgery she had three decades earlier. She hid the truth for years before admitting to having the procedure in 2007, claiming in a Glamour essay at the time that she did so because she was “scared of what people might think.” Jones’ View co-stars were irritated as a result.
Star Jones The View
Jones joined The View as one of the show’s original four co-hosts in 1997. Jones’ nine-season run on The View was not without controversy. Jones, who had been diagnosed as morbidly obese, began losing weight dramatically in 2003. She revealed in a September 2007 Glamour magazine essay that she had gastric bypass surgery in August 2003, resulting in a three-year weight loss of 160 pounds (73 kilograms). Many chastised Jones for initially lying when she claimed she had lost weight through diet and exercise. In May 2008, Barbara Walters told Oprah Winfrey that she had kept Jones’ gastric bypass surgery a secret because Jones had asked her to, and that saying otherwise on the show had turned off the audience.
Jones talked about her wedding plans on The View for months before she married investment banker Al Reynolds in 2004, including “plugs” (public mentions) for her suppliers, such as wedding invitations, clothing, and airlines. Jones was later revealed to have pushed product placement in exchange for free products and services. ABC claimed that her constant self-promotion turned off viewers. On April 21, 2006, ABC informed Jones that her contract for the following season would not be renewed.
In May 2008, Barbara Walters told Oprah Winfrey that she had kept Jones’ gastric bypass surgery a secret because Jones had asked her to, and that saying otherwise on the show had turned off the audience.
Jones talked about her wedding plans on The View for months before she married investment banker Al Reynolds in 2004, including “plugs” (public mentions) for her suppliers, such as wedding invitations, clothing, and airlines. Jones was later revealed to have pushed product placement in exchange for free products and services. ABC claimed that her constant self-promotion turned off viewers. On April 21, 2006, ABC informed Jones that her contract for the following season would not be renewed. In response to speculation that Jones would not return to the show in the fall, Barbara Walters stated publicly in May, “If Star wants to continue to be there, she is welcome.”
ABC, Barbara Walters, and Bill Geddie then privately told Jones she could leave on “her own terms.” They agreed that Jones would announce her departure on June 29, but she did so two days earlier, following a commercial break. Jones stated that she would remain on the show until July. Starr did not say anything on the air about her contract not being renewed. Joy Behar joked after Jones announced her departure live on air.
Jones told People in an interview that she was told her contract would not be renewed in April. On the following day’s show, Walters stated that they had instructed Jones to publicly claim she was leaving voluntarily, but Jones chose to tell the truth about her departure and surprised them with a public announcement of her involuntary departure from the show. Walters stated: “We hoped she’d announce it here on the show and leave with dignity. But Star made a different decision.” Jones’ announcement on the air the day before had taken Walters by surprise, she said. With the exception of previously recorded segments, Walters announced that Jones would no longer appear on the show.
Jones was fired from The View in 2004 after making on-air comments about her wedding. ABC Daytime President Brian Frons told Entertainment Weekly that Jones should have been fired a long time ago and that he should have encouraged Walters to fire her the previous year when “her connections to viewers hit an all-time low.” According to ABC, viewers did not like Jones discussing her weight loss and wedding preparations. Jones’ departure caused a nearly six-year schism between her and Walters.
“It is a sad day when an icon like Barbara Walters is reduced to publicly branding herself as an adulterer, humiliating an innocent family with accounts of her illicit affair, and speaking negatively against me all for the sake of selling a book,” Jones told Us Weekly in response to allegations in her autobiography, Audition. Walters remained silent. When the show went into summer reruns, only episodes in which she was not on the panel were rebroadcast. Jones returned to The View as a guest on February 22, 2012, and has since made several guest appearances.
Star Jones truTV
Jones announced on March 7, 2007, that she would return to her original network, Court TV—now rebranded truTV—as the network’s new executive editor of daytime programming, and that she would host an eponymous live weekday talk show based on the law and pop culture. Star Jones debuted on August 20, 2007, as a guest-driven live broadcast (with pre-recorded segments) covering current events in pop culture, entertainment, crime, and justice.
Six months later, her show was canceled, and Jones was fired from truTV due to “changes in their programming selection.” Star Jones’ final episode aired on February 1, 2008. Jones was paid the remainder of her $24 million, three-year contract, and the network stated that Jones was dropped from the channel’s lineup because she was “too serious” for its tabloid-focused coverage. According to The Washington Post, “[Jones’] show averaged 186,000 viewers and was down in the neighborhood of 85,000 by its final telecast.” CNBC.com listed the talk show as one of the “10 Notable Talk Show Failures” in January 2011.
