American television host, singer, musician, actress, and author Kathryn Lee Gifford was born on August 16, 1953.
She and Regis Philbin co-hosted the chat show Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee from 1985 to 2000.
Gifford is also well-known for her 11-year stint co-hosting the fourth hour of NBC’s Today show with Hoda Kotb (2008–2019).
She was a member of the Today crew when she won her first Daytime Emmy in 2010, and she has been nominated for 11 Daytime Emmys overall.
As Tom Kennedy’s singer/sidekick on the syndicated edition of Name That Song during the 1977–1978 season, Gifford played his first television role.
She was a contributing NBC News journalist and occasionally appeared on Today’s first three hours.
After watching the film ‘The Restless Ones at age 12, she became a born-again Christian.
Why is Kathie Lee Gifford famous?
1. Gifford joined Regis Philbin as co-host of The Morning Show on WABC-TV on June 24, 1985, taking Ann Abernathy’s spot.
When Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee was first televised nationally in 1988, she quickly gained national recognition.
Her descriptions of life at home with her sportscaster husband Frank, son Cody, and daughter Cassidy were seen by viewers of morning television during the 1990s.
On July 28, 2000, Gifford departed the program.
2. Gifford is also well-known for her 11-year stint co-hosting the fourth hour of NBC’s Today show with Hoda Kotb (2008–2019). In the weeks prior to Gifford’s arrival, ratings indicated 1.9 million viewers of the fourth hour of Today.
As of 2014, the fourth hour of Today with Gifford and Kotb averaged 2.15 million total viewers, an increase of 13 percent over the 2008 ratings.
She was a member of the Today crew when she won her first Daytime Emmy in 2010, and she has been nominated for 11 Daytime Emmys overall.
However, it was announced on December 11, 2018, that she was leaving Today in April 2019.
