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Alfred Joseph 'A.J.' Benza
Born	June 02, 1962 (1962-06-02) (age 45) New York, New York
Occupation	Gossip columnist, Television host
Spouse	Virginia Folk
Children	Roxy

Alfred Joseph “A.J.” Benza (born June 2, 1962) is a gossip columnist and television host. He was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, though he moved with his family to West Islip, New York on Long Island shortly after his birth. He has two sisters, Rosalie and Lorraine.

He is married to his second wife, Virginia Folk, and the couple have one child, a girl named Roxy.

After graduating from West Islip High School in 1980, Benza majored in journalism at C.W. Post College on Long Island.

During college he began writing for Newsday and was soon hired full-time as a gossip columnist for that paper and eventually for the New York Daily News. It was as a gossip columnist that he began appearing on E! Entertainment Television's The Gossip Show in the early 1990s. This led to appearances on Geraldo, Hard Copy, Montel, The Maury Povich Show, and various other television talk shows. He was later fired from the New York Daily News by editor Pete Hamill.

Soon after leaving the paper Benza was offered a job hosting a new show at E! entitled Mysteries and Scandals, which necessitated a move to Los Angeles, California. It was on this show that Benza popularized the catchphrase "Fame, ain't it a bitch" which later became the title of his autobiography. The show ran for three seasons between 1998 and 2000.

In 2001, Benza had a short-lived late-night talk show, A.J. After Hours, which did not garner favorable reviews.

Benza later appeared on the Howard Stern radio show, where he also sat-in as a replacement for Jackie Martling as did dozens of comedians and personalities. He was ultimately banned from the WXRK building for assaulting Stuttering John Melendez. The fight between the two began when a series of callers to the show made fun of Benza over the recent cancellation of his talk show. Benza claimed Melendez was only letting negative calls through and struck Melendez in the face.

As of 2006, Benza hosts the reality show Cold Turkey II on ION Television as well as High Stakes Poker (along with Gabe Kaplan) on the GSN, which began its fourth season on August 27, 2007.

Benza also had an acting role as L.C. Luco in the 2006 film Rocky Balboa. He also is working on a second book which is tentatively titled Star Trip.

Cover of Fame: Ain't it a Bitch (2001).

• Fame, Ain't it a Bitch, Miramax Books: May 2, 2001. ISBN 0-7868-6753-1

• A.J. Benza at the Internet Movie Database
• Online interview at The Black Table
• Q&A with fans from E!