Abby Huntsman

Abigail Haight Huntsman (born May 1, 1986) is an American journalist and television personality. The daughter of former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. and Mary Kaye Huntsman, Huntsman rose to prominence as a host on MSNBC and NBC News. She then became a general assignment reporter for Fox News Channel and later a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend. Huntsman co-hosted the ABC talk show The View from September 2018 to January 2020.

Abby Huntsman
Huntsman in 2012
Born
Abigail Haight Huntsman

(1986-05-01) May 1, 1986
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania (BA)
OccupationTelevision personality, journalist, co-Host on The View
TelevisionABC
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Jeffrey Livingston
​
(m. 2010)​
Children3
Parent(s)Jon Huntsman Jr.
Mary Kaye Huntsman
RelativesJon Huntsman Sr. (grandfather)

Early life

Abigail Haight Huntsman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1][2] She grew up in Utah but spent many years living in Asia, including Taiwan and Singapore.[3][4] Huntsman graduated from East High School and attended the University of Utah for her freshman year of college while her father was running for governor.[5] She then graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and communications.[6][7]

Career
Ari Melber, Krystal Ball, Touré, and Huntsman on The Cycle in 2013

At age 16, Huntsman worked a behind-the-scenes position at Good Morning America. By her own admission, she disliked it so much that she contemplated giving up on television "forever".[8] While attending the University of Pennsylvania, Huntsman interned for Diane Sawyer. Huntsman, having observed Sawyer's representation of herself and manner of presenting news, became so impressed with her that she would later say, "I always think of her as someone that I hope I can try to be like."[9]

She later became a host and producer for HuffPost Live, the Huffington Post's streaming network.[10] She had also been a frequent guest on CNN.[11]

Huntsman worked on her father's 2012 presidential campaign as a media advisor and surrogate,[12] during which she and her sisters were profiled by The New Yorker,[13] GQ,[12] and BuzzFeed.[14] Huntsman simultaneously appeared as a political commentator for ABC News in Washington, D.C. and Good Morning America in New York City.[15] In October 2012, Huntsman was profiled in ABC News's "Five Questions",[16] a part of This Week with George Stephanopoulos. In August 2012, she was interviewed by Brian Williams on Rock Center about Mitt Romney's run for president and her own relationship with the Mormon faith.[17] Previously, she held a position at the international public relations firm Burson-Marsteller.[18]

In 2013, she was listed as number 26 on the Forbes 30 under 30 list of up and coming members of the media.[19]

In July 2013, Huntsman joined MSNBC's The Cycle, filling a vacancy created by the departure of S.E. Cupp. Huntsman was the second replacement host to join the show, after Ari Melber. She sought to bring conservative views to the program, also denying that her relation to the Huntsman family had anything to do with her acquiring the position since she, in her own words, "went through the same audition process as everybody else", against a field she recalled featuring hundreds of candidates.[20] MSNBC canceled The Cycle in July 2015, and as a result, Huntsman left the network.[21]

In October 2015, Huntsman joined Fox News Channel as a general assignment reporter.[22] She covered the news of the day across the network's daytime and primetime programming.[23] She was named the new co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend in December 2016.[24] She made her final appearance as a co-host of the program on August 12, 2018.[25]

Huntsman then joined the long-running ABC talk show The View as a co-host alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, and Meghan McCain, debuting on the 22nd-season premiere on September 4, 2018.[26][27] She received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host alongside her co-hosts in 2019.[28] Huntsman announced in January 2020 that she was departing The View after two seasons to become a senior advisor to her father's 2020 Utah gubernatorial election campaign;[29] she made her final appearance as a co-host on the January 17 episode.[30] Her father lost Utah's 2020 Republican gubernatorial primary.[31]

Personal life

Huntsman married her college boyfriend, Jeffrey Bruce Livingston, in 2010.[32] Huntsman gave birth to a baby girl in November 2017.[33] She is no longer an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[34] In January 2019, she announced that she was pregnant with twins; she welcomed a daughter and son in June 2019.[35]

Huntsman is a Republican.[36][37] She, along with Margaret Hoover and her former View co-host Meghan McCain, released an ad in early 2013 in support of gay marriage. "I think it's a generational issue, and I think over time you're going to see more and more Republicans support the freedom to marry. I'm happy and proud of that movement."[38]

References
  1. "Abigail Huntsman, Jeffrey Livingston". The New York Times. August 27, 2010.
  2. Magid, Judy (September 12, 2005). "Open House: Public mansion not always ideal .. | The Salt Lake Tribune". Archive.sltrib.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  3. "MSNBC's Abby Huntsman: Cheese-loving dog owner who's 'walking back' her crush on Tom Brady". The Hill. June 4, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  4. "Abby Huntsman and her husband Jeffrey Bruce Livingston nearing their 6th marriage anniversary". frostsnow.com. 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  5. "Hitting for The Cycle".
  6. "Abby Huntsman, C'08". Penn Alumni. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  7. Evans, Erica (January 13, 2020). "Q&A: Abby Huntsman says leaving 'The View' was a 'no-brainer'". Deseret News. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  8. Kahn, Mattie (October 19, 2015). "ABBY HUNTSMAN THINKS FOX NEWS IS A GREAT PLACE TO BE A WOMAN". elle.com.
  9. Joyella, Mark (October 21, 2015). "Abby Huntsman Debuts at Fox News". adweek.com.
  10. "Abby Huntsman". HuffPost. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  11. "Abby Huntsman: Mitt Romney won't pick dad, Jon Huntsman, to be VP". CNN. April 19, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  12. Alex PappademasPhotographs by Danielle Levitt. "Jon Huntsman's Daughters, Mary Anne, Liddy, and Abby   GQ January 2012: Politics". GQ. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  13. Lizza, Ryan. "Are Jon Huntsman's Daughters Helping his 2012 Campaign?". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  14. "The Huntsman Daughters: A Guide". Buzzfeed.com. January 6, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  15. Sltrib.com. "Huntsman daughter parlays campaign into media gigs | The Salt Lake Tribune". Sltrib.com. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  16. "Five Questions 'This Week': Abby Huntsman   ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. October 26, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  17. "Huntsman clarifies mysteries of Mormon church   Video on NBCNews.com". Video.msnbc.msn.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  18. "PressReleases - Burson-Marsteller Hires Slate of Top Media". Burson-marsteller.com. 2012.
  19. Bercovici, Jeff. "Abby Huntsman and Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, 26 and Hosts, HuffPost Live   In Photos: 30 under 30: Media". Forbes. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  20. Larson, Leslie (July 29, 2013). "Abby Huntsman joins NBC's sorority of political daughters as she makes her debut on the cable network's 'The Cycle'". New York Daily News.
  21. Chariton, Jordan (July 30, 2015). "MSNBC Cancels 'The Cycle,' Abby Huntsman and Krystal Ball Out". TheWrap.
  22. Lowe, Kinsey (October 3, 2015). "Abby Huntsman Joins Fox News As Reporter". Deadline. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  23. "Abby Huntsman | Biography". Fox News. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  24. Concha, Joe (December 13, 2016). "Abby Huntsman named new co-host of 'Fox and Friends Weekend'". The Hill.
  25. Barr, Jeremy (September 17, 2018). "Abby Huntsman on Why She Left Fox News for 'The View'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  26. Turchiano, Danielle. "Abby Huntsman Joins 'The View' as Co-Host". Archived from the original on August 28, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  27. Corinthios, Aurelie. "Meghan McCain Absent from The View After John McCain's Death: 'Her Dad Was Her Best Friend'". People. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  28. Grossman, Lena (May 5, 2019). "Daytime Emmy Awards 2019: The Complete List of Winners". E! Online. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  29. Stelter, Brian; Darcy, Oliver (January 13, 2020). "Abby Huntsman quits 'The View'". CNN Business. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  30. Johnson, Ted (January 17, 2020). "Abby Huntsman Praises Colleagues, Addresses Discord "Rumors" In Sendoff From 'The View'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 18, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  31. Staff, Politico. "Huntsman loses GOP primary in Utah". POLITICO. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  32. "Abigail Huntsman, Jeffrey Livingston". The New York Times. August 27, 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  33. "LOOK: Abby Huntsman and Husband Welcome Baby Girl, Isabel Grace". Fox News. November 29, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  34. DEHLIN, JOHN. "661: Abby Huntsman and Carrie Sheffield and their Transitions Out of Mormonism". Mormon Stories. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  35. Ali, Rasha (June 6, 2019). "'The View' co-host Abby Huntsman gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  36. Bloomgarden-Smoke, Kara (July 17, 2013). "Abby Huntsman is Leaving HuffPost Live for 'The Cycle'". Observer Media.
  37. Gavin, Patrick (August 8, 2012). "Abby Huntsman teases party switch". Politico.
  38. "Meghan McCain, Margaret Hoover and Abby Huntsman star in GOP gay marriage ads". On Top Magazine. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
Media offices
Preceded by
Paula Faris
Sara Haines		 The View co-host
2018–2020		 Succeeded by
Sara Haines
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