Star Jones biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Lawyer, journalist. Born Starlet Marie Jones in Badin, North Carolina, on March 24, 1962. She spent the first six years of her life living with her grandmother while her mother, Shirley Jones, finished college. In 1969, at the age of six, Jones moved to Trenton, New Jersey, to live with her mother and stepfather James Byard, a municipal security chief.

The family lived in a housing project in Trenton, and struggled to make ends meet. Despite their financial situation, Star's parents sent her and her younger sister Sheila to parochial school. Growing up, Jones knew she wanted to be a lawyer. As a six-year-old, Jones often pretended to orate in a courtroom.

Star attended Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where she remained a conscientious student-and a mouthy one. "I had a smart mouth and could make cutting remarks," Jones said about her childhood. "That's probably why I became a good lawyer."

Star graduated from high school in 1980, and enrolled at American University in Washington, D.C., for her undergraduate degree. While at American, she took clerical jobs and student loans to pay her way. She also shortened her name to Star and played a very active role in student government, becoming the National Vice President of Undergraduate Affairs for her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984, and was accepted to the University of Houston Law Center that same year.

High Profile Lawyer

While studying at Houston Law, Jones was recruited by the Kings County District Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, New York. Jones attributes her decision to take the job as being influenced by her mother and stepfathers' roles as public servants. At the time, her mother was Trenton's human services director and her stepfather was head of security for Trenton. She earned her Juris Doctor in 1986, and joined the Kings County D.A. Office later that year.

While working for Kings County, her ability to argue and persuade a jury grew exponentially. Jones was involved in many high profile and controversial cases, and of the last 40 homicide cases she prosecuted, 38 resulted in convictions. One of her most infamous cases involved the prosecution of a 14-year-old boy who shot another teen on a playground. During the case, Jones dealt the boy a tough sentence of nine years to life in prison. This drew ire from the African-American community, which questioned the voracity of her prosecution and the length of the sentencing. For Jones' part, she claims to have never seen or heard any remorse from the boy, and will never forget the case.

In 1991, Jones was promoted to senior assistant district attorney for Kings County. That same year, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office was contacted about choosing an attorney for a possible Court TV appearance. A colleague referred the station to Star Jones. That summer, Jones made her first appearance on television