History of Ashleigh Banfield in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: March 28, 2026

Ashleigh Banfield is a Canadian-American journalist, known for her work as a former host of "Banfield" on NewsNation and previous roles at CNN, including hosting "Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield" and "Early Start." She has established herself as a prominent figure in news broadcasting.

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Full Timeline

December 29, 1967: Ashleigh Banfield Born

On December 29, 1967, Ashleigh Dennistoun Banfield was born. She is a Canadian-American journalist and former host of Banfield on the NewsNation network.

1985: Left Balmoral Hall School

In 1985, Ashleigh Banfield left Balmoral Hall School, a private university preparatory school in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

1988: Career Began at CJBN-TV

In 1988, Ashleigh Banfield began her career at CJBN-TV in Kenora, Ontario, and at CKY-TV in Winnipeg later that year.

1988: Graduated from Queen's University

In 1988, Ashleigh Banfield obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and French from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

1989: Anchored Weekend News for CFRN-TV

From 1989 to 1992, Ashleigh Banfield anchored the weekend news for CFRN-TV in Edmonton.

1991: Covered Bush/Gorbachev Summit

In 1991, during her tenure at CICT-TV, Ashleigh Banfield, as a freelance associate producer for ABC's World News Tonight, covered the Bush/Gorbachev Summit in Russia.

1992: Graduated from the University of British Columbia

In 1992, Ashleigh Banfield continued her studies in French at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, British Columbia, graduating in that same year.

1992: Worked at CICT-TV as Producer

In 1992, Ashleigh Banfield worked at CICT-TV in Calgary as a producer.

April 1993: Covered Clinton/Yeltsin Summit

In April 1993, during her tenure at CICT-TV, Ashleigh Banfield, as a freelance associate producer for ABC's World News Tonight, covered the Clinton/Yeltsin Summit in Vancouver.

1993: Evening News Anchor and Business Correspondent at CICT-TV

From 1993 to 1995, Ashleigh Banfield worked at CICT-TV in Calgary as evening news anchor and business correspondent.

1994: Won Two Iris Awards

In 1994, Ashleigh Banfield won two Iris Awards in the categories of Best News Documentary and Best of Festival.

1995: Continued at CICT-TV

In 1995, Ashleigh Banfield continued working at CICT-TV in Calgary as evening news anchor and business correspondent.

2000: Hired by MSNBC

In early 2000, Ashleigh Banfield was hired by national cable network MSNBC after having won an Emmy for her reporting at Dallas broadcast station KDFW-TV.

September 11, 2001: Reported from Manhattan on 9/11

On September 11, 2001, Ashleigh Banfield reported from the streets of Manhattan amid the debris from the collapsing World Trade Center and received a promotion to produce a new program, A Region in Conflict.

April 2003: Landon Lecture Speech at Kansas State University

In April 2003, Ashleigh Banfield raised concerns regarding media coverage of the conflict in Iraq during a Landon Lecture Series speech at Kansas State University.

2004: Married Howard Gould

In 2004, Ashleigh Banfield married real estate financier Howard Gould, at the Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club in Canada.

2005: Joined CourtTV

In 2005, Ashleigh Banfield joined CourtTV (renamed TruTV) and co-hosted Banfield & Ford: Courtside.

October 24, 2008: Became a U.S. Citizen

On October 24, 2008, Ashleigh Banfield became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

January 2009: Featured in New Canaan-Darien Magazine

In January 2009, Ashleigh Banfield was featured in New Canaan-Darien Magazine.

June 1, 2009: Host of truTV series Open Court

On June 1, 2009, Ashleigh Banfield took over as host of the truTV series Open Court.

2011: Filed for Divorce

In 2011, Ashleigh Banfield filed for divorce from Howard Gould in Connecticut.

January 2012: Joined CNN as Co-Anchor of Early Start

In January 2012, Ashleigh Banfield joined CNN as co-anchor with Zoraida Sambolin of the network's morning show, Early Start.

August 13, 2012: Moved to CNN Newsroom

On August 13, 2012, Ashleigh Banfield moved to the 11 a.m. edition of CNN Newsroom in New York each weekday, replacing Kyra Phillips as anchor.

August 6, 2013: CNN Newsroom Rebranded to Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

On August 6, 2013, it was announced that CNN would rebrand its 11 a.m. hour of CNN Newsroom to Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield, airing at 12 noon Eastern.

2014: Appearance on House of Cards

In 2014, Ashleigh Banfield was featured in a small role portraying herself in the Netflix series House of Cards, where she interviewed Claire Underwood.

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2016: Refractive Lens Exchange Surgery

In 2016, Ashleigh Banfield had refractive lens exchange surgery that corrected her far-sightedness.

December 2017: Crime & Justice with Ashleigh Banfield

As of December 2017, HLN legal issues interview program Primetime Justice with Ashleigh Banfield has been re-branded as Crime & Justice with Ashleigh Banfield.

December 29, 2017: Married Chris Haynor

On December 29, 2017, Ashleigh Banfield married sales executive Chris Haynor at the Hermitage Club ski lodge in Wilmington, Vermont.

October 16, 2018: HLN Announces Layoff of Banfield

On October 16, 2018, HLN announced that Ashleigh Banfield was to be laid off, along with Michaela Pereira and Carol Costello, as part of the network's decision to scale back their live news programming.

October 26, 2018: Final Broadcasts on HLN

On October 26, 2018, final broadcasts of the shows hosted by Ashleigh Banfield, Michaela Pereira, and Carol Costello were aired on HLN.

2020: Resumed Hosting Programs on CourtTV

In 2020, Ashleigh Banfield resumed hosting programs on CourtTV, including Judgment with Ashleigh Banfield.

January 2021: Joined NewsNation with Banfield

In January 2021, Ashleigh Banfield was announced as the host to replace the third hour of NewsNation Prime on NewsNation, with the self-titled show Banfield.