Elisabeth Hasselbeck
Elisabeth Hasselbeck | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 28, 1975 |
| Occupation | Co-host on The View |
| Spouse | Tim Hasselbeck (6 July 2002 - present) 1 child |
Elisabeth Hasselbeck, née Filarski (born Elisabeth Del Padre Filarski, born on May 28, 1975 in Cranston, Rhode Island), is an American television personality. She initially started as a footwear designer and came to public attention after she placed fourth in the television program Survivor: The Australian Outback. She currently is the youngest host on the daytime talk show The View. She is of Polish and Italian descent.
Biography
As a child, she lived in Providence and Cranston, Rhode Island. She graduated from St. Mary Academy - Bay View in Riverside, Rhode Island in 1995. Although she was raised by liberal parents, Elisabeth is politically conservative. She is pro-life in all circumstances (including rape, incest, or harm to the mother), is unconvinced that global warming is the result of man made causes, a supporter of the Iraq War, and a believer in the ideal of the proposed democratization of the Middle East. She worked as a shoe designer for Puma in 1998, while attending Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Elisabeth has Celiac Disease, and has talked about it many times on The View.
At Boston College, she was a 1997 and 1998 Orientation Leader. [1] She also played softball at BC and was captain of the team for two seasons. She graduated from BC in 1999. [2]
During her season of Survivor (2001), she was originally a member of the Kucha tribe, and was the last remaining member of that tribe in the game before being voted off on Day 39 and finishing fourth overall. As her luxury item, she brought a self-made immunity headress. At the end of the game, she was the most popular Survivor of that season among the fans, rating a 9.3 out of 10 in the online approval poll; despite this, she is consistently voted as the least popular hostess on The View. Producers wanted her to return for the Survivor: All-Stars edition, but she was unable to attend because she was pregnant at the time.
From 1999 to 2002, she hosted the Style Network documentary-style style program Stylemakers. She was also the host of The Look for Less from 2002 to 2003. In 2003, Elisabeth was one of a number of women who guest-hosted to replace outgoing The View co-host Lisa Ling. Elisabeth was then among the last few contenders, and was finally chosen by the ladies (in a Survivor-style Tribal Council) as the new co-host. She was 28 years old at the time.
Hasselbeck represents the dissenting position on The View, defending creationism and opposing euthanasia and abortion. [3] She was a supporter of President George W. Bush's reelection campaign and delivered a primetime speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention.
She is a supporter of cervical health and encourages women to have regular exams. In recent years she has worked with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Making Memories Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, The Wireless Amber Alert Program Initiative and The World Scholar Athlete Games.
Since her appearance on Survivor, she has married (in July 2002) her college sweetheart, current New York Giants backup quarterback Tim Hasselbeck. In the past, Hasselbeck has been open about owing much of her career to the influence of her husband's family, particularly her father-in-law, Don Hasselbeck. On April 6, 2005, she gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter named Grace Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Her brother-in-law is Seattle Seahawks Pro-bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.
In 2007, Elisabeth was asked to participate in the fourth season of Dancing with the Stars. She turned the offer down due to her commitment with The View and her family.
Episodes of note
On April 12, 2006's episode of The View, Barbara Walters read a statement on behalf of Elisabeth and her husband, Tim Hasselbeck. In the carefully worded statement, Walters revealed that and her family had been stalked "by an individual or individuals who seem to want to do them harm" and that false rumors/accusations (regarding the couple and their baby daughter, Grace) were also being spread. Walters then went on to reveal that the appropriate authorities had been contacted and that the matter was on its way to being settled. Little else was revealed in the tense segment, and her fellow co-hosts expressed their full and complete support for Elisabeth and her family. [4]
On an episode which aired on August 2, 2006, Hasselbeck got into a heated debate in which she strongly opposed the Food and Drug Administration's plan to sell the "morning after pill" as an over-the-counter drug. Experts are unsure as to whether the pill only prevents the release of an egg or also prevents the implantation of a fertilized egg. [5] Hasselbeck stated, "I believe that life begins at the moment of penetration...and when that egg is fertilized..." She felt the pill should even be banned in cases of rape and incest, because even then "that life still has value." Hasselbeck argued that advocates of the drug use the "rape or incest" exception as a "bait-and-switch" distraction from the goal of making it universally accessible. She argued if the "rape or incest" exception was all advocates cared about, they would not support its over-the-counter status. After Joy Behar poked fun at Hasselbeck's argument (finishing Hasselbeck's comment "life begins" with "with flirting"), Hasselbeck, visibly distressed, became louder and her face flushed; co-host Barbara Walters told her to "calm down". A few days later, Hasselbeck read out a description of a "careless" baby-sitter she had encountered, hoping the baby-sitter's employers would fire her.[1]
On an episode which aired October 17, 2006, Hasselbeck took issue with the use of the name Elizabeth Hassenback given to a character on the TV drama Law & Order SVU who was raped and killed. She said that the use of the name, which she claimed clearly implied her, was deliberate and stated it was "socially irresponsible."
Several times in March 2007, Hasselbeck and Rosie O'Donnell argued while on the air. On these occasions, the discussions ended with Rosie personally attacking Hasselbeck, the first time calling her "very young and very wrong" and on March 22 silencing her by suggesting her questions to a guest had no merit and loudly demanding she stop trying to ask anything.
References
- ^ Rachel Giese (2006-08-14). "Women on the Verge" (html). cbc.ca. Retrieved 2006-11-14.