Sunny Hostin

I remember, as a federal prosecutor myself, it's only a 3-year appointment, and they interviewed my childhood neighbors.

I'm cool under pressure. Cool as a cucumber, actually, eerily so. My friends and family comment on it. I think I get it from my father, the quintessential smooth operator.

I had an affinity for criminal law because I came from that background. I understood it. A lot of lawyers of color understand the inequities of the system and become defense attorneys.

My parents really pushed me to excel in school. Education was always important to them, so it was important to me.

Racial bias does exist, and until we can all admit its existence and become introspective as to whether our own personal biases are impacting how we deal with others, there will be no change.

As a former prosecutor, I never presented a case in front of the grand jury that didn't result in an indictment. Bottom line: If a prosecutor wants to indict a case, the case gets indicted.

If I can sit on national television, and people are listening to what I think, anyone can do anything.

When you're biracial, people sort of make you gray - you're not black, you're not white, you're sort of gray; you're 'other.' And I'm fortunate to have parents that were strong enough to say, 'You're not 'other.' You're special.'

I had the benefit of parents who believed deeply in my ability. And they were teenagers when they had me - they were teenagers when they got married - but they instilled in me that you can do anything and that brains were most important, that passion was important, and drive.

Sometimes Supreme Court justices surprise you with their decisions - you think they're going to vote one way, but they vote a different way, and I keep an open mind about that. But I think a moral compass is really important for a Supreme Court justice, as it is for any political appointee.

I'm not one who wears a lot of sleeveless tops or dresses.

My hair is really easy. I used to wear it very curly on air, but they prefer a smoother look on television. I just flat iron it and do big barrel curls.

I have a glam squad, as most on-air people do. I think CNN has some of the best makeup artists, quite frankly.

I was a journalism major in college, went to law school, and became a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. I loved it and was with the Department of Justice for years.

The difficulty of being Afro-Latina, in general, is the lack of acceptance in both communities.

I grew up in the South Bronx in the 1970s. My dad worked in IT, and my mom was a teacher.

I studied journalism at Binghamton University, even interning for NBC's longtime anchor Carol Jenkins. Before graduation, I told my parents I wanted to pursue broadcast journalism.