The 10 Best Black Female Talk Show Hosts in TV History

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah will forever be America’s most iconic talk-show host. Just to refresh: Her 25-season show aired nationally from 1986 to 2011 in Chicago. On Oprah, she showcased everything from stories about regular people to celeb interviews. And of course, the show gave us the “you get a” meme from her studio audience giveaways. A true gift!

Wendy Williams

If your first thought when you hear the phrase “How you doin’?” isn’t of Joey from Friends, then it’s likely of Wendy Williams. Her show started in ’08. Although it stopped production this year because of the pandemic, it has been renewed for 2021 to 2022. Don’t have her show’s official greeting down yet? You have time to practice, and you can get a little lesson from Wendy herself.

Robin Roberts

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Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg joined The View as a cohost in 2007. On the show, she converses with three other women about the day’s hot news topics. Through the years, she’s engaged in some heated convos and even walked offstage. Oh, and not to mention, she’s one of a small group of celebs who have EGOT status, aka won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. Easy! Casual.

Tyra Banks

While she’s best known as a former model and creator/host of America’s Next Top Model, Tyra Banks had her very own talk show, The Tyra Banks Show, from 2005 to 2010. The show focused on issues facing women, including makeovers and weight, along with celebrity guest interviews. She also briefly hosted a style-centric talk show called FABLife.

Sherri Shepherd

Alongside Whoopi Golderg and co., Sherri Shepherd cohosted The View from 2007 to 2014. There was plenty of drama among cohosts, but that’s what makes for good entertainment on- and offscreen, right? You may also recognize her from a few of your TV show faves, including 30 Rock, The Masked Singer, and Mr. Iglesias.

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Queen Latifah

The rapper and actress hosted a two-season talk show. Although it was short-lived, she spoke about the experience in a 2014 Facebook post. “The most important thing in life is that you wake up every single day and take chances,” she wrote. “No matter what the outcome…believe in yourself and continue to fly.” Essentially, once you do a thing and it has reached its end, move on to the next! And she most certainly did.

Cynthia Garrett

Cynthia Garrett made history as the first Black woman to host a late-night show on NBC. Whoopi did have her own late-night show in syndication, but Cynthia was the first-ever hire. Her show, LATER w/ Cynthia Garrett, ran for four seasons. We stan!

Keke Palmer

We know and love all of her work—from True Jackson, VP to Hustlers—but Keke Palmer did dabble in the talk-show realm for a min with her show Just Keke. It aired for only one season in 2014, but it did make her the youngest talk-show host in TV history at 20 years old. More recently, she was the cohost of the Good Morning America show Strahan, Sara & Keke until it was canceled.

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Tamera Mowry-Housley

For seven years, the Twitches star cohosted The Real. On the show, she got, well, real with her cohosts and viewers about everything from her personal life to the day’s news. She recently announced her departure from the show and said she looks forward to spending more time with her family and pursuing new opportunities.

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