Eve Jihan Jeffers-Cooper, right, has stepped in to replace Aisha Tyler as full-time host on CBS daytime talk show ‘The Talk’.
The 39-year-old rapper/actress officially joined the show following the departure of Tyler, who left at the end of last season to focus on her role on CBS’ Criminal Minds and other projects.
The “Who’s That Girl” hitmaker, who previously filled in as guest co-host, joins longtime co-hosts Sharon Osbourne, Sara Gilbert, Sheryl Underwood, and Julie Chen.
Previous hosts have included Holly Robinson Peete and Leah Remini.
“Honestly, I am the most excited. My face hurts from smiling,” Eve said about the full-time hosting opportunity. “I am so honored to be here with you ladies. Thank you so much for having me.”
In a chat with People magazine, Eve reveals she was initially reluctant to join the Los Angeles-based show because she resides in London with her husband Maximillion Cooper.
“When I first got the first call in London, my manager told me about the opportunity, and at first I was like, ‘I don’t know, because it’s far from from home,'” she says. “But the last few months I’ve been feeling that I want to join something. This opportunity came and it’s something new, something exciting. It’s a new chapter in my life, so why not?”
Eve married the British entrepreneur in Ibiza in June 2014, after dating since 2010. She happily assumed the role of stepmom to his four children.
“Eve is a natural fit with our dynamic group of Daytime Emmy Award-winning hosts, and brings a fresh perspective and bold point of view as an accomplished artist, businesswoman, and wife who is raising four stepchildren and looking to add to her family,” CBS exec Angelica McDaniel, who oversees daytime programming at the network, tells Variety.
“It is a new career move for me,” Eve tells Variety. “I am interested in hosting, and specifically on this show, because I feel as though I can express myself in a way people haven’t seen me before, and be able to engage in great discussions [and] have some fun. I’m just in a place in my life where I was looking for a platform to express myself.”
Eve says she will continue to make time for music, although it isn’t clear who her fan base is.
“I’ve already started recording. I started recording a few months ago. And the plan was, before this opportunity came up, was to put out some music, which I still plan to do soon.”
Photos by Cindy Ord/Getty Images, Derrick Salters/WENN.com, Lia Toby/WENN.com
