ABC medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton has long been a fixture on our TV screens. However, now more than ever, the 51-year-old has been a constant source of comfort for Good Morning America viewers as she provides her expert opinion on issues relating to the coronavirus outbreak. Dr. Jen has not only been appearing on traditional media outlets, but she has garnered a massive social following, including 87,000 followers on Twitter, and 170,000 followers on Instagram. At least all of those users are staying informed! As she celebrates her birthday on April 23, unfortunately in quarantine, here are 5 things to know about the medical professional.
1. Dr. Jen is a gynecologist who refers to herself as ‘Your BFF Gyno’. Jennifer graduated from Columbia University in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in art history, before she went on to receive her medical degree from Columbia in the year 2000. She also completed a master’s degree in nutrition at the Ivy League college in 2016. She has since gone on to specialize in women’s health as an Ob-Gyn, attempting to “break down the barriers” of uncomfortable conversations. “Affectionately referred to as your all-in-one ‘BFF’/Ob-Gyn, Dr. Jennifer Ashton marries an unparalleled medical background with an accessible ‘girl’s-girl’ attitude,” her website reads.
2. She is also the chief women’s health correspondent for The Dr. Oz Show. Along with her role as a medical correspondent for ABC News and Good Morning America, she often appears on the popular medical series The Dr. Oz Show to discuss all types of issues relating to women’s health.
3. She broke down myths about the coronavirus on Good Morning America. Dr. Jen has been making regular appearances on the morning show since the beginning of the pandemic, and she was quick to inform the public that the flu mimics symptoms of the coronavirus, including non-specific symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath and fatigue. “We have to remember, we are still in the middle of flu season, so common things occur commonly,” she said on the show, when the coronavirus pandemic first broke out in the US in March.
4. She isn’t the only member of her family working in the medical field. In fact, she was born into a family of physicians! Her father Oscar Garfein is cardiologist, and her mother Dorothy Garfein, is a registered nurse. Even her brother Evan works in the medical field: he’s the chief of plastic surgery and reconstructive surgery at Montefiore Hospital in New York.
5. Her ex-husband, Robert, died by suicide two weeks after their divorce was finalized. Jennifer and her ex-husband, Robert Ashton, were divorced when their children, Alex and Chloe, were teenagers. Two weeks after their divorce was finalized, he committed suicide by jumping from the George Washington bridge on 11 Feb. 2017.