Ashleigh Banfield

Ashleigh Banfield was born on December 29, 1967, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She pursued her education at Balmoral Hall School, followed by a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and French from Queen’s University in 1988. She continued her French studies at the University of British Columbia, graduating in 1992. Banfield began her career in Canadian television in 1988, working at CJBN-TV in Kenora, Ontario, and CKY-TV in Winnipeg. She anchored weekend news for CFRN-TV in Edmonton from 1989 to 1992 and then served as a producer and evening news anchor at CICT-TV in Calgary from 1992 to 1995. During this period, she also worked as a freelance associate producer for ABC’s “World News Tonight,” covering significant international summits.

Her career in the United States began in the mid-1990s at KDFW-TV in Dallas, where she hosted “News 4 Texas Daybreak” and co-hosted other news programs. In early 2000, Banfield joined MSNBC after winning an Emmy for her work at KDFW-TV. She hosted “MSNBC Investigates” and was a host for “HomePage.” Notably, she reported extensively on the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks from Manhattan, continuing to cover the aftermath on a global scale through programs like “A Region in Conflict” and “Ashleigh Banfield: On Location.” Her reporting during this period earned her recognition and several awards.

Following her time at MSNBC, Banfield joined CourtTV (later TruTV) in 2005, co-hosting “Banfield & Ford: Courtside” and later hosting “Open Court.” She returned to CNN in 2012, co-anchoring “Early Start” and later anchoring “CNN Newsroom” and “Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield.” In 2014, she had a cameo in the Netflix series “House of Cards.” She moved to HLN in 2017 to host “Primetime Justice with Ashleigh Banfield,” which later became “Crime & Justice with Ashleigh Banfield.” After a period as the host of A&E’s “Live Rescue,” she joined CourtTV again in 2020 for the true crime series “Judgment with Ashleigh Banfield.” Since January 2021, she has hosted the self-titled show “Banfield” on NewsNation, providing in-depth coverage and interviews. She also serves as a fill-in host for Dan Abrams on “On Patrol: Live” on Reelz as of 2025.