Lola Ogunnaike is one of the leading pop culture authorities in the country. In her decade long journalism career, she’s profiled a vast assortment of luminaries, everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Sting, Merv Griffin to Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith to Ryan Seacrest.

Most recently, Ogunnaike served as an entertainment correspondent for CNN’s flagship show American Morning, where she covered the inauguration, Academy Awards, Grammys and Sundance Film Festival, as well as interviewed the likes of Beyonce, James Lipton, supermodel Iman, White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers and a host of others.

Prior to joining CNN, Ogunnaike spent five years as a culture reporter for The New York Times, writing about music, Hollywood, lifestyle and fashion for the paper’s Arts & Leisure and Style sections. She has also been a reporter at the New York Daily News and a contributing writer for Rolling Stone and Vibe magazine, penning more than a dozen cover stories.

Her work has appeared in Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, New York Magazine, USA Today, Glamour and Food & Wine. In addition to a co-hosting appearance on the View, Ogunnaike has also offered her unique commentary on The Today Show, Larry King Live, CNN’s Reliable Sources, MTV, VH1, and BET. Her work was recently featured in the Best Music Writing of 2010 anthology. In 2007, she was named one of Ebony magazine's "150 Most Influential Blacks in America. Ogunnaike received her master's in fine arts degree in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Virginia.