Jenny Jones (presenter)

The family, who also had an older daughter, Helena Elizabeth (born 1944), briefly moved to Italy, before relocating to London, Ontario, in 1948.

A strict Catholic household, the impoverished family ran a bridal shop.

Upon her parents' divorce, Jones, her mother, and sister moved to Montreal.

Disheartened by mother's alcoholism and verbal abuse, Jones began "shoplifting, drinking and necking with guys that we just picked up."

Jones ran away from home at 11 years old; after one month, Jones was arrested for shoplifting and returned to her mother.

Jones's mother subsequently sent her and Helena back to London to live with their father.

As a teenager, Jones began to abuse alcohol, her school grades declined, and she ran away from home again.

According to Jones, "I didn't want to be with either parent and couldn't wait until I was old enough to leave. Show business was my way out."

Janina Maria Stronski (born June 7, 1946), known professionally as Jenny Jones, is a Canadian comedian, television presenter, cook, and philanthropist.

Janina Maria Stronski was born on June 7, 1946, in Bethlehem, Palestine, to John Stronski, a World War II veteran, and Zosia "Sophie", a dressmaker.

In 1963, at 17 years old, Jones dropped out of high school and formed a band that toured mining towns in Ontario.

The following year, she adopted the stage name Jenny Jones and moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles.

She briefly worked as a strip-club hostess, before moving to Las Vegas to form the all-female rock band The Cover Girls.

The band toured throughout Nevada; impressed by Jones's performance, she was recruited by Wayne Newton as a background vocalist.

Prior to that, her first television appearances were as a contestant on The Price Is Right in 1979 (winning $12,955 in cash & prizes, including a sports car and $6,000 cash), Match Game in 1981 (as Jenny Wilburn, winning $5,500), and Press Your Luck in 1985 (as Jennie Jones, winning $18,706 over 3 days).

Inspired by comedy television shows, Jones decided to pursue a career in stand-up comedy.

Jones started her career as a drummer in a rock band, and later attempted a career in stand-up comedy during the 1980s.

By 1983, Jones had worked her way up to serving as an opening act for Jerry Seinfeld.

She embarked on a comedy show titled Girls' Night Out.

Billed as a "No Men Allowed" event, Jones sold out 10 consecutive shows and had her routine featured on 20/20.

The Jenny Jones Show was conceived as an alternative to the "harder-edged" tabloid talk shows that aired at the time.

She experienced some success with comedy, winning the 1986 season of the TV talent show Star Search.

She hosted the nationally syndicated talk show The Jenny Jones Show, from 1991 to 2003.

The show premiered in September 1991 on 178 television stations nationwide, which was the biggest launch in syndicated talk show history.

It was produced by Telepictures and was distributed by Warner Bros. Television.

The show ran from September 1991 to September 2003 and was taped in Chicago at WMAQ-TV studios.

On March 6, 1995, the show taped an episode titled "Revealing Same Sex Secret Crush"; the episode featured six guests who were invited to meet their same-sex secret admirers.

Three days after the episode's taping, one of the guests killed his secret admirer.

Jones provided testimony in the ensuing criminal trial.

In August 1995, the victim's family filed a lawsuit against The Jenny Jones Show for negligence.

Jones was required to testify during the civil trial.

The jury initially found in favor of the victim's family; however, this judgment was reversed by the Michigan Court of Appeals.

The court found that the murder was "unforeseeable" and that the show "had no duty to anticipate and prevent the act of murder committed by [the killer] three days after leaving [the] studio and hundreds of miles away".

In 1997, Jones released a memoir, Jenny Jones: My Story; it was co-authored with Patsi Bale Cox.

In 2003, The Jenny Jones Show broadcast its twelfth and final season.

Jones established The Jenny Jones Foundation in 2005 as a means to provide assistance to those in need.

Primary areas of focus are education, women's health, and improving communities throughout the country.

On April 10, 2006, Jones released her first cookbook, Look Good, Feel Great Cookbook.

All of the book's proceeds were donated to City of Hope Breast Cancer Research Treatment and Education.

In 2008, Jenny established "Jenny's Heroes," a program where, through The Jenny Jones Foundation, she is giving two million dollars of her own money to individuals wanting to make a difference in their local communities.