Jennifer Ashton
Jennifer Lee Garfien Ashton (born April 23, 1969) is a physician, author, and television correspondent. She is chief health and medical editor and chief medical correspondent for "ABC News" and "Good Morning America", chief women's health correspondent for "The Dr. Oz Show", and a columnist for "Cosmopolitan Magazine". Dr. Ashton is also a regular contributor to the All You Need To Know program on ABC daytime. She is also a frequent guest speaker and moderator for events raising awareness of women's health issues. Early life and education. Ashton was born in California to Oscar Garfein, a  New York City cardiologist, and Dorothy Garfein, a registered nurse. Her brother, Evan Garfein, is chief of plastic surgery and reconstructive surgery at Montefiore Hospital in New York City. She attended Horace Mann School in Riverdale, New York City, where she studied French and English. In 1991, she graduated from Columbia College, Columbia University, with a bachelor's degree in art history. She received her medical degree from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2000. In 2016, she received her master's degree in nutrition from Columbia University. Career. A board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, Ashton completed her residency  at St. Luke's–Roosevelt Hospital Center (now Mount Sinai Morningside) in New York. She has practiced as an attending physician at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, an affiliate of Mount Sinai Medical Center in Englewood, New Jersey, and is currently in private practice. Ashton has authored numerous magazine articles and contributed to a health blog for "The Record" of Bergen, New Jersey. In addition, she has written three books: "The Body Scoop for Girls" (2009), which educates teenage girls on the topic of puberty; "Your Body Beautiful" (2012), which addresses health and wellness issues in middle-aged women; and "Eat  This When You're Expecting, Not That" (2016), in which she outlines a diet designed specifically for pregnant women. Ashton launched her television career in 2006 as the first female medical contributor to the Fox News Channel. She appeared on TLC's "A Baby Story", on PBS, and on Oprah & Friends XM radio's "The Dr. Oz Show". She joined CBS News as a medical correspondent in 2009, contributing to all CBS media platforms, with regular appearances on "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" and "The Early Show". She remains a featured expert commentator on WCBS Radio and its national  affiliates. Ashton co-hosted the short-lived ABC television series "The Revolution", canceled in April 2012 due to poor viewership. She joined the ABC News medical unit as senior medical contributor in 2012, making regular appearances on "Good Morning America" and "ABC World News Tonight". In 2013 she became an on-air personality for the daytime talk show "The Doctors". As of March 2020, she has been a co-host during showings of (formerly Pandemic: What You Need To Know). Personal life. On August 31, 1996, Jennifer married Robert Ashton Jr, a thoracic and cardiac surgeon and later had two  children, Chloe and Alex. In January 2017, they divorced. On February 11, 2017, two weeks after the divorce was finalized, Robert, 52, died by suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. On June 6, 2018, after news of Kate Spade's suicide broke, Ashton went public about her ex-husband's death during an interview with colleague George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America". Ashton has revealed that she learned Transcendental Meditation through the David Lynch Foundation. Awards and honors. In 2007, Ashton was recognized as a Woman of Achievement by the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey. In 2008 , she received the Hope for The Future Award from The Octoberwoman Foundation for Breast Cancer Awareness.