Pics Of The Original Cast Of The View Then & Now

"The View" has a long history of switching out its co-hosts over the years, but it all started with the five women who first sat around the iconic table. Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, and Debbie Matenopoulos were the original co-hosts of the talk show when it premiered in 1997, but it's safe to say a lot of things have changed since then. As of June 2026, Behar is the only OG co-host who still sits at "The View" table nearly 30 years later, tackling the day's hot topics alongside current fellow co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Ana Navarro.

Similar to seeing news anchors without makeup, you may not recognize some of the original "The View" co-hosts after all these years, considering it's been almost three decades since they first appeared on the show. Aside from Behar, most of the other original co-hosts moved on to new adventures after departing "The View," mainly staying within the daytime TV industry. Walters remained on "The View" for almost 20 years before retiring in 2014 and moving away from public life shortly thereafter. She died in December 2022 at the age of 93 following dementia-related complications. As for the rest of the OGs, we're taking a closer look at how the original "The View" co-hosts have changed over the years by comparing photos from then and now.

Meredith Vieira was 43 years old when "The View" first aired in August 1997, and she spent the next nine years as part of the program's original cast of co-hosts. The photo on the left shows Vieira in 1999, during the early years of "The View," while the photo on the right was taken in 2019. Even after more than 20 years, Vieira is still radiant, joining the ranks of other famous older women who don't seem to age. Over the years, Vieira has rarely strayed from her layered, shoulder-length haircut, and she has stuck with her recognizable dark blond tone for a while now, a change-up from the darker honey brown color she was rocking in the late '90s. She celebrated her 72nd birthday in December 2025, though her stunning smile and eternal glow continue to prove that age really is just a number.

After Vieira exited "The View" in 2006, she wasn't done with daytime TV just yet. She moved to NBC to co-anchor the "Today" show alongside Matt Lauer, taking over the role from Katie Couric. At the same time, Vieira was also the host of "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire," a gig she held for 11 seasons between 2002 and 2013. Vieira had also stepped down from "Today" in 2011 to spend more time with her family, though she eventually got her own talk show, which ran from 2014 to 2016. She spent the next several years making guest appearances on a number of shows, including both "The View" and "Today," later becoming the host of the game show "25 Words or Less" in 2018.

Debbie Matenopoulos was an original co-host on "The View," but she only remained on the cast for two seasons. She was just 22 years old when the show first aired, and had recently turned 23 at the time the photo on the left was taken in January 1998. Back then, Matenopoulos was clearly a participant in some popular '90s-style makeup trends like ultra-thin drawn-on brows, heavy eyeliner, and a dark, metallic lip. Since then, Matenopolous' style has evolved as she's grown older, as seen in the photo on the right, which was taken from an Instagram post shared by Matenopoulos in December 2024 while she rang in her 50th birthday. She is now typically photographed with a more modern and dewy makeup look, while her highlighted blond locks are usually styled into trendy, loose beach waves. 

After serving as the youngest panelist at the table, Matenopoulos left "The View" in 1999 and was replaced by Lisa Ling, yet she still wound up having a long career as a TV personality. She landed a number of different hosting gigs over the years, working as an E! correspondent, reporting live on red carpet events and making guest appearances on TV programs like "The Talk" and "Fashion Police." She served as a host of "The Insider," and in 2013, she began as a co-host on the Hallmark Channel's lifestyle show "Home & Family" alongside Cameron Mathison, a job she held down for almost a decade before the show was cancelled in 2021. Since then, Matenopoulos has continued to make sporadic TV appearances, and she frequently shares recipes and lifestyle content on social media. 

Star Jones had been one of the OG co-hosts of "The View" since its inception in 1997, and her time on the show would include a major physical transformation by the early 2000s. As seen in the photo on the left, taken in 1999, compared with the pic on the right, which is from 2026, Jones has gone through a significant weight-loss journey over the years, one that certainly captured the attention of the show's audience. In 2003, Jones had reached over 300 pounds and was diagnosed as morbidly obese, so she knew something had to change. She underwent gastric bypass surgery the same year and ultimately lost around 160 pounds over the next few years.

But by 2006, Jones' run on "The View" came to an end, a decision that was rumored to be influenced by the backlash she received for not publicly addressing her drastic change in appearance and failing to be up front about her weight loss methods. Jones initially didn't provide a reason for her departure, though she later revealed in an interview with People that her contract was not renewed for the show's tenth season. "I feel like I was fired," she said at the time (via CBS News). Still, Jones insisted that the nine seasons she spent on "The View" were "the most amazing nine years of [her] entire professional and personal life."

Joy Behar is the longest-running co-host in the history of "The View," but even her time on the show hasn't been without its interruptions. After starting as part of the original cast in 1997, Behar sat at "The View" table for 16 years until 2013 when her contract was not renewed. She would later say that the decision was "not 100 percent my choice," according to a 2017 interview with People. "Somebody wanted me gone," she added at the time. But ultimately, Behar's hiatus from the show was brief, as she was brought back to co-host full time by 2015.

While fans of "The View" have been watching Behar on their screens for decades now, it's obvious that she has aged quite elegantly throughout the course of her tenure on the show. As demonstrated in the two photos above, taken in 2002 (left) and 2025 (right), Behar practically looks exactly the same. Despite turning 83 in October 2025, Behar's face is still radiant as ever, and she has clearly been able to maintain her glowing, healthy-looking skin and dazzling smile. The pics above, taken more than 20 years apart, illustrate just how consistent Behar has kept her look over the years, despite adding a bit more brightness to her orangey-red hair over the years. Behar has also stayed noticeably trim as she's gotten older, and has candidly admitted that she is among the news personalities who used Ozempic or other GLP-1s for weight loss.