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Andy Cohen’s chief of staff Daryn Carp talks Jersey roots, reality TV and… murder
WRITTEN BY JORAM MUSHINSKE PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF PEOPLETV
Intoday’s ever-changing world
of entertainment, hard work
and versatility often lead to
greater success. Just ask Ryan
Seacrest, Oprah Winfrey or
Michael Strahan. Why settle
for one job when you can have
several?
“Say yes to everything right at
the jump,” says Daryn Carp, Andy
Cohen’s longtime assistant and host
of several web series and podcasts.
“You don’t know what you don’t
know. Ithink that learning what
you don’t like is just as valuable
as finding out what you do.”
Carp, 32, grew up in Montclair.
She attended Rand Elementary
School, Mount Hebron (now Buzz
Aldrin) Middle School and graduated
from Montclair High School.
Carp’s parents, who both grew
up in New York, chose Montclair
for its diversity, education and proximity
to the city. Being nearby meant
easy access toBroadway shows and
Yankee games, among other things.
“My mom started working in
Manhattan when Iwas in my midteens,”
Carp says. “I would take the
bus from the top of Valley Road
and go visit her. That was my first
experience on my own ofgoing into
the city and really seeing how close
it was.”
“It was easy to fall in love with
New York City,” says Carp, who
now lives there. “It felt like an
extension of home. The funny thing
is that Inever realized how cool and
beautiful Montclair was until Ileft.”
SEIZE THE DAY (Above) Daryn Carp
assisted Andy Cohen for years at Bravo
before the two left to form Most
Talkative Inc., where Carp took on the
title of chief of staff; (Opposite page)
Carp poses for apublicity shot for
PeopleTV’s Reality Check.
GET TO KNOW
DARYNCARP
Born: May 24, 1988 at
Englewood Hospital
Grew up in: Montclair
Currently lives in: New York City
Graduated from:
Montclair High School &
Lafayette College
FOLLOW CARP ONLINE:
@carpedaryn
@carpedaryn
peopletv.com
oxygen.com
NETWORKING IN JERSEY
Carp attended Lafayette College
in Easton, Pennsylvania to study
psychology. During her junior year
of college, she met Tyler Mathisen, a
CNBC reporter and host of the show
High Net Worth, during anetworking
event. They hit it off, and the
following summer Carp started an
internship at CNBC in Englewood
Cliffs.
“Mathisen lived in Montclair, which
Ididn’t even know until after Igot
the internship,” she says. “We became
friends because we could relate everything
to Montclair. I’ve discovered
that all roads lead back there.”
During the summer, Carp made
the 20-minute commute from
Montclair to Englewood Cliffs for
the internship. Once she started
her senior year, thanks to a light
class schedule, she drove from
Pennsylvania to Englewood Cliffs to
intern two days a week. “That internship
helped me get involved with the
NBC Page Program,” she says. “I met
a ton of people there who recommended
me and helped me apply.”
TURNING THE PAGE
Carp’s lifelong dream was
to become a game show host.
Unfortunately, there isnoclear
trajectory to achieve such a goal.
“I looked up a lot of similar patterns
between the game show hosts
that I really admired,” she says.
“A common thread between some
of them was the NBC Page Program
—think Kenneth from 30 Rock.”
MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE BACK TO SCHOOL 2020
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