The View

Background:

“Our time on Earth is so random. Try to accomplish things you have always dreamed of while you can. I know it sounds cliché, but the biggest lesson I have learned is that life is precious; enjoy it while it lasts.” Lisa Ling

Kicking off her TV career at age 16 with the nationwide teen magazine show “Scratch,” Daytime Emmy nominated Chinese-American journalist, host and correspondent Lisa Ling enjoyed attention as a co-host of the ABC morning talk show “The View” from 1999 to 2002. She jointly picked up four Daytime Emmy nominations for her work in the series. Ling is now popular as the host of “National Geographic Channel's Explorer” (2002-present) and a special correspondent for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” (2006-present). She has also been a reporter for “Channel One News” (1990-1997).

“I hope my desire to travel so much isn't forever because it's not the most conducive lifestyle for a relationship or a family, by any means.” Lisa Ling

Ling was romantically involved with Rick Yune before announcing her engagement to entrepreneur Philip Levine in February 2005. Ling and Levine, however, later split up. In January 2007, she became engaged to Paul Song and they married four months later. The couple currently resides in Los Angeles.

One of People Magazine's “100 Most Beautiful People in the World” (2007), Ling became a supporter of Ralph Nader during his election in 2000. The following year, she ran in and completed the Boston Marathon, where she collected $80,000 for pediatric cancer and the “Ali & Dad’s Army” foundation. Ling is a fan of the late Bruce Lee.

Young One

Childhood and Family:

Lisa Ling was born on August 30, 1973, in Sacramento, California. After graduating from Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks, California, she attended the University of Southern California, but left after one year. Lisa has a sister named Laura Ling, who is a managing editor of Vanguard at Current TV.

Following a failed engagement to Philip Levine, Lisa married Paul Song, a radiation oncologist at the Chicago-based Little Company of Mary Hospital, on May 26, 2007, in Los Angeles. The couple became engaged in early 2007.

Lisa is known by the nicknames Baby and Young One.

National Geographic Explorer

Career:

Hailing from Sacramento, California, Lisa Ling began her career by auditioning for a nationally syndicated teen magazine show called “Scratch” when she was 16 and ended up being hired as one of four hosts of the show. Within two years, she had become one of the youngest reporters for “Channel One News,” a news program shown in schools throughout the United States. She would spend the next seven years with the show, during which time she covered international news from a number of countries, including Japan, Vietnam, India, Russia, Iraq, Iran, Cambodia, China and Afghanistan. By the time she had reached her 25th birthday, Ling had been named the senior war correspondent of Channel One thanks in part to her reports of the civil war in Algeria and the civil war and refugee crisis in Albania.

Apart from her busy schedule with Channel One, in which she worked over 40 hours a week, Ling still found time to pursue her education at the University of Southern California. In 1996, she became a member of an investigation team for Time magazine. Ling also produced eight documentaries for PBS, with topics ranging from drug trafficking to her young cousin's battle with liver cancer. The films, some of which won awards, were broadcasted on the Los Angeles-based public television station KCET-TV.

A one time freelance correspondent for ABC News' weekend edition, Ling joined “The View” in 1999 when she replaced Debbie Matenopoulos. Sharing hosting duties with Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Meredith Vieira, and Star Jones, Ling provided contemporary age philosophy when these five women talked about relevant issues and shared their daily opinions. She co-received four consecutive Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Talk Show Host (2000-2003).

Ling left the show in 2002 and then worked as a host of “National Geographic Explorer,” a series broadcasted on MSNBC. The award winning show was moved to the National Geographic Channel in 2005 and aired under the original title “National Geographic Explorer.” Since beginning her duties there in December 2002, Ling has visited many exotic places around the world.

As of 2006, Ling has also served as a special correspondent for “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Through the popular TV talk show, she has traveled to Uganda to cover the resistance army and the crisis of AIDS orphans, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and India, in which she has reported on such topics as gang rape and bride burning.

Outside her journalism career, Ling also worked as an actress in 2002's “The Divorce,” an episode of the TV comedy series “Ed.” In the episode, she played Dr. Judith Kim. In 2007, she appeared as a reporter in two episodes of the series “Who Cares About Girls?”

Awards:
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