A Day In The Life of 'The View' Co-Host & Author Sunny Hostin
PHOTO BY MILLER MOBLEY
Sunny Hostin (@sunny) does it all. Her titles include Emmy Award-winning legal journalist, a wife and mother of two, author of New York Times bestseller Summer on the Bluffs (whose paperback version was released in May) and I Am These Truths: A Memoir of Identity, Justice, and Living Between Worlds, co-host on ABC’s morning talk show The View and ABC News senior legal correspondent and analyst. Just last week, Hostin inked a multiyear, multimillion-dollar deal to continue on the popular show alongside fellow co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and Sara Haines. But throughout her unpredictable schedule, Hostin always makes time for herself, her family and her adoringly viral hens.
Sunny Hostin signing her novel PHOTO: COURTESY OF SUNNY HOSTIN
4:30AM: I spray the classic eucalyptus ShowerSpa mist [from European Spa Source] in the shower as I get ready. It is so incredible to just open you up. I also use the Plant Apothecary body wash in Calm Down and Start Happy. I’ve found that most facial products don’t work for me, so I use Clean & Clear salicylic acid toner, Clean & Clear Edge cream, Bioderma micellar water and DCL exfoliator. I have Alexa all over the house and I usually play yacht rock in the morning, which my husband makes a lot of fun of me for.
6:30AM: I let my dogs out and I feed them before I get into the car. Oftentimes we get an updated set of hot topics at 7:30PM, so I’m usually scrolling through my phone to figure out if there’s a new one that I think is interesting. My wonderful driver Alex and I listen to NPR’s Code Switch show or ABC News’ Starting Here podcast so I get some of that news then if I haven’t already heard from Alexa. My son actually has a podcast called UnTextbooked [that breaks down] things that we didn’t learn in our textbooks, and so I like to hear what he’s working on. I also listen to Deja The View, which is a really cool podcast about our show.
On set of The View PHOTO: BY LOU ROCCO/ABC
10AM: Hair and makeup is usually done for me right after our 8:30AM ‘Hot Topics’ meeting. Then I go into my dressing room. The show really runs about 36 minutes, believe it or not, so I have about a minute or two to speak. So I go through what is most important for me to say that will reflect what people in my community are talking about. By 10:30AM, my producer has given me my blue cards that you guys see on television. It usually just has facts, because I like to keep receipts on things. I don’t like to just talk—that’s the correspondent in me. Then around 10:45AM I get mic-ed. I walk downstairs for final touch-ups and then we walk out on set at 11AM on the dot.
6:30PM: My daughter gets out of track practice at 5:30PM, so I try to be around in time to be able to pick her up. By 7PM, we have our new hot topics. So I’ve got to read through like 50 pages of articles. I try to read through all of them because some of them are really interesting; you learn lots of fun facts.
Hostin’s beloved chickens. PHOTO: COURTESY OF SUNNY HOSTIN
I have bees and three gardens: a green garden with lettuce, collards, kale and some strawberries; an herb garden; and another with tomatoes and vines. I’m out every single day because I’ve got to let the chickens free-range. I’m building a big walk-in chicken coop, which is amazing. That’s my happy time.
12AM: I’m a night owl, 100%. I have this Oura Ring now, and I’m trying to map my sleep and go to bed no later than midnight. I don’t sleep that well, so I take melatonin. I also have chamomile, lavender or lemon grass tea. Or I’ll make my own mint tea from the garden. I have this incredible lavender oil that I put on my pillow. There’s something about it that’s really comforting. Oftentimes I read before I go to bed, but sometimes I’m looking at my phone, which is a disaster because it keeps me up.