Andrew Joseph Cohen (born June 2, 1968) is an American radio and television talk show host, producer, and writer.
Cohen is the host and executive producer of
Bravo's late night talk show, ''
Watch What Happens Live!''
He also has a pop culture channel on
Sirius XM named Radio Andy. He hosts a two-hour live show with co-host
John Hill twice a week. Cohen served as Bravo's executive vice president of Development and Talent until 2013. He was responsible for creating original content, developing innovative formats, and identifying new talent. Cohen also served as executive producer on the Emmy- and
James Beard award
The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...
–winning reality cooking competition television show, ''
Top Chef
''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional ch ...
''.
He continues to serve as an executive producer of the ''
Real Housewives
''The Real Housewives'' is an international reality television franchise that consists of 57 programs; 11 American installments, 20 international installments and 26 spin-offs. Most of the franchise documents the personal and professional lives ...
''
franchise
Franchise may refer to:
Business and law
* Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
* Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
, host of ''Watch What Happens Live'' on Bravo,
host of ''Andy Cohen Live'' on SiriusXM, and hosted the revival of the television dating show ''
Love Connection
''Love Connection'' is an American television dating game show in which singles attempt to connect with a compatible partner. Originally hosted by Chuck Woolery, the show debuted in syndication on September 19, 1983, and ended on July 1, 1994, a ...
''.
Early life
Andy was born in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
, to Evelyn and Lou Cohen.
He has a sister, Emily Rosenfeld. He is Jewish, with roots in Poland, Russia, and Lithuania. Cohen graduated from
Clayton High School in 1986. He is a graduate of
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...
, where he received a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree in
broadcast journalism
Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...
. Cohen wrote for the Boston University student newspaper, ''
The Daily Free Press
''The Daily Free Press'' is the independent student newspaper at Boston University. It is a digital-first publication with daily online content and a monthly print edition on Thursday during the academic year. ''The Daily Free Press'' is staffed ...
''. He later interned at
CBS News alongside
Julie Chen, who was also working as an intern.
Career
Cohen began his career in television as an intern at CBS News. He spent 10 years at the network, eventually serving as senior producer of ''
The Early Show
''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999 to January 7, 2012, and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the network since 1954. The program aired Monday through Friday from ...
'', a producer for ''
48 Hours'', and a producer for ''
CBS This Morning
''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987, to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012, to September 6, 2021. The program was aired from Monday through Saturday. ...
''. He joined the television network
Trio in 2000, later becoming vice president of original programming at
Bravo
Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels
*Bravo (band), a Russian rock band
* Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984
*Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...
in 2004, when the network purchased Trio.
Cohen was a regular on ''
Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...
'' and ''
Morning Joe'', and has co-hosted ''
Live! with Kelly'', and ''
The View.'' He has made various guest appearances on other talk shows. He has made several guest appearances on television shows playing himself, such as ''
The Comeback'' and ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
''. In summer 2009, Cohen began hosting a weekly midnight television
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...
, ''
Watch What Happens Live
''Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen'' (abbreviated ''WWHL'', previously named ''Watch What Happens Live!'') is an American pop culture-based late-night talk show hosted by Andy Cohen, that premiered on Bravo on July 16, 2009.
The show fea ...
''. The show was later expanded into a weeknight series.
Cohen's autobiographical
memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...
''Most Talkative'' (
Henry Holt and Company), released in May 2012,
became a
''New York Times'' Best Seller in the hardcover, paperback, and combined
nonfiction categories.
On August 15, 2013, he declined to co-host the
Miss Universe pageant
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...
in Russia, due to the country's recent adoption of anti-gay laws. Before that, he hosted
Miss USA 2011
Miss USA 2011 was the 60th Anniversary of the Miss USA pageant, held on the Las Vegas Strip at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, Paradise, Nevada on Sunday, June 19, 2011. Rima Fakih of Michigan crowned ...
and
Miss USA 2012
Miss USA 2012 was the 61st Miss USA pageant, held on June 3, 2012, at The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada and it was televised live on NBC. Alyssa Campanella of California crowned her successor Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island at the end of the event. This ...
. On March 22, 2014, he portrayed Zeus in
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
's music video for "
G.U.Y.
"G.U.Y." (a backronym for "Girl Under You") is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third studio album, '' Artpop'' (2013). She co-wrote and co-produced the song with Zedd. It debuted on Italian radio as the album's third and final sing ...
".
In November 2014, Cohen published his second memoir, ''The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year'', inspired by the similarly titled ''
The Andy Warhol Diaries
''The Andy Warhol Diaries'' is the dictated memoirs of the American artist Andy Warhol, posthumously published. It was edited by his frequent collaborator and long-time friend, Pat Hackett. Warner Books first published it in 1989 with an introdu ...
''. The book spans a year of journal entries beginning in September 2013. ''The Andy Cohen Diaries'' became a ''Times'' Best Seller in the Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction category.
On September 14, 2015,
SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sa ...
launched a new radio channel curated by Cohen, known as Radio Andy. The channel features shows hosted by Cohen (Andy Cohen Live, and Andy Cohen's Deep & Shallow). Cohen also hosts a series of special broadcasts for his station known as Town Halls in front of a live studio audience. The channel also features shows hosted by;
Sandra Bernhard,
Bevy Smith,
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. Rather began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hur ...
,
Michelle Collins
Michelle Danielle Collins (born 28 May 1962) is an English actress and TV presenter, best known for her roles in the British soap operas ''EastEnders'' and ''Coronation Street''.
Collins played Cindy Beale in the BBC soap ''EastEnders'' fro ...
,
Jim Parsons
James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. From 2007 to 2019, he played Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom '' The Big Bang Theory''. He has received various awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead ...
, Jeff Lewis, Amy Phillips,
Jonathan Alter
Jonathan H. Alter (born October 6, 1957) is a liberal American journalist, best-selling author, Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker and television producer who was a columnist and senior editor for ''Newsweek'' magazine from 1983 until 2011. Alt ...
(together with his family),
John Hill, the producers of
Watch What Happens Live
''Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen'' (abbreviated ''WWHL'', previously named ''Watch What Happens Live!'') is an American pop culture-based late-night talk show hosted by Andy Cohen, that premiered on Bravo on July 16, 2009.
The show fea ...
, and the producers at
World of Wonder. The channel has also produced specials including; Radio Andy Theater, a parody of the
Real Housewives
''The Real Housewives'' is an international reality television franchise that consists of 57 programs; 11 American installments, 20 international installments and 26 spin-offs. Most of the franchise documents the personal and professional lives ...
franchise, AC2 Live: Andy and Anderson on the Road (a behind-the-scenes show following Cohen and
Anderson Cooper on their live tour), and the Love Connection Diaries (also a backstage docu-series featuring Cohen, and
Love Connection
''Love Connection'' is an American television dating game show in which singles attempt to connect with a compatible partner. Originally hosted by Chuck Woolery, the show debuted in syndication on September 19, 1983, and ended on July 1, 1994, a ...
producer and Radio Andy host, John Hill).
Cohen and close friend
Anderson Cooper announced that they would be going on a national tour to perform their conversational stage show ''AC2'' beginning in March 2015.
The tour opened in Boston, followed by Miami Beach, Chicago and Atlanta.
The idea for the show came about after Cooper interviewed Cohen about his then-latest book, ''The Andy Cohen Diaries'', at an event at the
92nd Street Y in New York City. Since then, the two-man show has continued to tour reaching over 50 cities as of October 2018.
On December 31, 2015, Cohen hosted a one-off live edition of ''
Hollywood Game Night'' (''New Year's Eve Game Night''), and co-hosted ''
New Year's Eve with Carson Daly
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
'', for
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
.
In 2016, the publisher Henry Holt and Company announced it was launching the imprint Andy Cohen Books. Cohen's third memoir ''Superficial: More Adventures From the Andy Cohen Diaries'' was published in November 2016. A sequel to ''The Andy Cohen Diaries'', the book covers diary entries for the subsequent two years. ''Superficial'' became a ''Times'' Best Seller among books written by celebrities.
In January 2017,
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
ordered a revival of ''
Love Connection
''Love Connection'' is an American television dating game show in which singles attempt to connect with a compatible partner. Originally hosted by Chuck Woolery, the show debuted in syndication on September 19, 1983, and ended on July 1, 1994, a ...
'' hosted by Cohen. The hour-long game show premiered on May 25. The same month, Cohen played himself on the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
series, ''
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' is an American streaming television sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, starring Ellie Kemper in the title role. It premiered on March 6, 2015, on Netflix and ran for four seasons, ending on January 25 ...
''. In August 2017, Fox announced that it would renew ''Love Connection'' for a second season. Later that year, Cohen succeeded
Kathy Griffin
Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television comedy specials and has released comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her reality show '' Kathy ...
as co-host of CNN's
New Year's Eve coverage alongside Cooper.
In 2018, Cohen played himself on the show ''
Riverdale'' as a friend of the Lodge family. He made a March 2018 appearance as a guest judge in an episode of the
VH1 reality-television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
series ''
RuPaul's Drag Race
''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...
''. In December 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, he again co-hosted CNN's New Year's Eve coverage with Anderson Cooper.
Personal life
Cohen is the first openly gay host of an American late-night talk show. In December 2018, he announced he would become a father in 2019 with the help of a surrogate. His son was born February 4, 2019. His daughter was born April 29, 2022.
Cohen is a diehard fan of the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
and
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...
and an avid
Deadhead
A Deadhead or Dead Head is a fan of the American rock band the Grateful Dead. In the 1970s, a number of fans began travelling to see the band in as many shows or festival venues as they could. With large numbers of people thus attending strings ...
.
Awards
![KD9C6342 (8227014349)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/KD9C6342_%288227014349%29.jpg)
*2004,
Peabody Award, 2004, as executive producer of the
Trio documentary ''
The N-Word
''The N-Word'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed and written by Todd Larkins Williams. The movie looks into the history and usage of the word ''nigger
In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against ...
''.
*2007, ''
Multichannel News'' "40 Under 40" broadcasting executives.
*2007, Peabody Award, as executive producer of the
Bravo
Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels
*Bravo (band), a Russian rock band
* Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984
*Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...
reality-TV competition ''
Project Runway
''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design.
The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted by time, mater ...
''.
*2010, appeared on the ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corpora ...
'' "Power List" of talked-about individuals.
*2010,
Emmy Award for Outstanding Competitive Reality Series as executive producer of ''
Top Chef
''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional ch ...
''
*2012, ''
GQ''
's "25 Best Dressed Men of the Year",
*2012, chosen as one of ''
Broadcasting & Cable
''Broadcasting & Cable'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadcas ...
's ''"Digital All-Stars".
*2012 to 2016, listed in ''
Out'' magazine's list of Most Powerful Gay People.
* 2019, received the
Vito Russo Award at the
30th GLAAD Media Awards
The 30th GLAAD Media Awards is the 2019 annual presentation of the GLAAD Media Awards, presented by GLAAD honoring the 2018 media season. The awards honor films, television shows, musicians and works of journalism that fairly, accurately and incl ...
.
Filmography
Television
Bibliography
*
*
*
See also
*
Broadcast journalism
Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...
*
Entertainment journalism Entertainment journalism is any form of journalism that focuses on popular culture and the entertainment business and its products. Like fashion journalism, entertainment journalism covers industry-specific news while targeting general audiences be ...
*
LGBT culture in New York City
*
List of LGBT people from New York City
*
New Yorkers in journalism
New York City has been called the media capital of the world. Many journalists work in Manhattan, reporting about international, American, business, entertainment, and New York metropolitan area-related matters.
New Yorkers in journalism
A
...
References
External links
*
*
''Watch What Happens Live''official website
Andy Cohen's blog on Bravo*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Andrew
1968 births
Living people
20th-century American Jews
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male writers
21st-century LGBT people
American bloggers
American gay actors
American gay writers
American male bloggers
American male television actors
American socialites
American television executives
American television talk show hosts
Boston University College of Communication alumni
Gay entertainers
Jewish American male actors
Jewish American writers
Late night television talk show hosts
LGBT broadcasters from the United States
LGBT Jews
LGBT memoirists
LGBT people from Missouri
LGBT television producers
Male actors from St. Louis
Peabody Award winners
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Television producers from Missouri
Writers from St. Louis
Jewish American television producers