Lisa 'Kennedy' Montgomery is an American TV host, author, and libertarian political commentator who made her mark as an MTV Video Jockey (VJ). She is 51-year-old and is the mother of two daughters.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, an American TV Host
She is known professionally by her middle name, Kennedy, and recognized for her outspokenness and insightful commentary on the most pertinent political, economic, and cultural events.
Kennedy was a VJ in the period before social media and became a highly regarded cultural figure.
Early Life
Kennedy was born in the Midwest town of Indianapolis on September 8, 1972. She is of half-Romanian and half-Scottish descent. Her artist mother raised her and her two brothers.
She grew up in the Lake Oswego region of Oregon, a suburb of Portland, and attended Lakeridge High School. She went to Santa Monica College and later moved to the University of California, Los Angeles, where she gained a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy in 2005.
After college, Kennedy interned at KROQ, a Los Angeles radio station, where she was known on-air as "The Virgin Kennedy."
Career
Kennedy got her start in television as an MTV VJ in 1992 and hosted the late-night show "Alternative Nation" which focused on a combination of alternative music and political news.
The host, who is known for her trademark horn-rimmed glasses, made a name for herself on the show and helped introduce America to bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden during her time as a host, which ran from 1992 until 1997.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery on stage at the VH1 Big In '05 Awards
She was the MTV news correspondent for the Grammy Awards and Video Music Awards. The political commentator also became the inspiration for the character named McGovern, a conservative young reporter on the sitcom Murphy Brown.
Kennedy went on to appear as a panelist on the 1998 revival of the game show "Hollywood Squares". A year later, she wrote Hey Ladies! Tales and Tips for Curious Girls, which shares anecdotes from her own life.
Her second book, titled "The Kennedy Chronicles: The Golden Age of MTV Through Rose-Colored Glasses," was published in 2013. It shares funny anecdotes about the celebrities she met along the way, including Madonna, Roseanne, Courtney Love, Michael Jordan, Matt LeBlanc, and Gwen Stefani.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery authored the book The Kennedy Chronicles
From 1999 to 2001, Kennedy worked in Seattle as a host for 'The Buzz,' a show about current and local events and comedy, on KQBZ radio.
She moved to the Comedy World Radio Network in 2001 and co-hosted the morning radio show 'The Future with Ahmet and Kennedy' with Ahmet Zappa. She later co-hosted a morning show with Malibu Dan, 'The Big House.'
Kennedy was also the host of the 'Game Show Network' (GSN) show 'Friend or Foe?' for two seasons from June 2002 and a guest host on the GSN's game show 'WinTuition.'
In 2003, Kennedy hosted GSN's 'Who Wants to Be Governor of California?.' She was the host of the night-time political talk show on 'KFI AM640' in Los Angeles and a co-host of the show 'Kennedy and Suits' from April 2008 to September 2009 with Bryan Suits on the same station.
In 2005, Kennedy appeared as an occasional panelist on VH1's Best Week Ever and MSNBC's Scarborough Country. That same year, she became the host of Fox Reality's Reality Remix.
In 2008, she co-hosted the Kennedy & Suits Show with Bryan Suits on Los Angeles talk-radio station KFI. From 2009 until March 2014, Kennedy hosted Music in the Mornings on KYSR in Los Angeles. She also briefly worked as an assistant for the 'Discovery Channel' show 'PitchMen' in 2011.
Kennedy joined Fox Business Network as a contributor in 2012 and appeared as a panelist on the 'Fox News Channel' programs 'Outnumbered' and 'The Five.' She co-hosted the Fox Business Network show 'The Independents' from December 2013 to January 2015, which ended in 2015. From here, Kennedy hosted her own primetime show, 'Kennedy' until June 2023.
Kennedy was the host of many popular radio and TV shows
The show had a seven-month hiatus just before the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, and then Fox Business shut it down in June 2023 after eight years, but Kennedy remained a host on Fox News.
Her podcast, 'Kennedy Saves the World,' also airs five days a week on Fox News Radio, and she appears on other Fox talk shows, such as Outnumbered, The Five, and Gutfeld!. Kennedy was also a regular host of Fox News Saturday Night from June 2023 to January 2024.
In March 2024, the multi-faceted media professional joined the Daily Mail as a columnist.
Controversies
She was nearly fired by her MTV employers for simulating oral sex with a microphone while standing next to New York City's then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani during the 1994 Video Music Awards. Kennedy was forced to apologize to Giuliani and promise to never repeat the behavior.
Personal Life
Kennedy is divorced from former professional snowboarder Dave Lee, whom she married on May 27, 2000. The couple share two daughters - Pele Valentina Lee, who was born in 2005, and Lotus Kennedy Lee in 2009.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery with husband Dave Lee
The brunette previously dated frontman and guitarist John Rzeznik from the band Goo Goo Doll, and the song "Name" was written about her.
Kennedy's net worth is an estimated USD 4 million. Her Instagram account, KennedyNation, currently has about 121k followers.
Health
Kennedy has revealed in interviews that she has celiac disease, so she does not eat gluten and follows a dairy-free diet. As a triathlete, she is an avid fitness fanatic and swims, cycles, and runs.
She has the Romanian flag tattooed on her left ankle and a pink Republican elephant on her upper left thigh. She referred to herself as a Republican in the 90s during her MTV days but now describes herself as a libertarian.
Kennedy is 172 cm tall, weighs around 59 kg, and lives in New York.
Politics
In a 2017 interview with Reason, a libertarian magazine, Kennedy revealed that both her parents were Democrats, and her mother cried when she told her she was a libertarian.
In her years on TV and the radio, Montgomery has made a career of being outspoken on a range of issues. She is well known for her humor and insight. She is a supporter of same-sex marriage, pro-choice, and privatizing social security. She opposes the War on Drugs and is against bureaucratic regulations.