Kathryn Lee Gifford ( née Epstein; born August 16, 1953) is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and

Regis Philbin Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, talk show host, game show host, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest working ma ...

hosted the

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...

Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...

''. Gifford is also known for her 11-year run with

Hoda Kotb Hoda Kotb ( ; arz, هدى قطب, ''Hudā Quṭb''; ; born August 9, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show ''Today'' and co-host of its entertainment ...

, on the fourth hour of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

'' show (2008–2019)''.'' She has received 11

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

nominations and won her first

in 2010 as part of the ''Today'' team. Gifford's first television role was as

Tom Kennedy Thomas or Tom Kennedy may refer to: Politics *Thomas Kennedy (Scottish judge) (1673–1754), joint Solicitor General for Scotland 1709–14, Lord Advocate 1714, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs 1720–21 * Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassilis ...

's singer/sidekick on the syndicated version of ''

Name That Tune ''Name That Tune'' is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being p ...

'' in the 1977–1978 season. She also occasionally appeared on the first three hours of ''Today'' and was a contributing

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

correspondent. Kathie Lee married Paul Johnson, a composer, arranger, producer and publisher of

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely aroun ...

, in 1976. After their divorce in 1982, she married sportscaster and former NFL player

Frank Gifford Francis Newton Gifford (August 16, 1930 – August 9, 2015) was an American football player, actor, and television sports commentator. After a 12-year playing career as a halfback and flanker for the New York Giants of the National Foo ...

in 1986. He died in 2015. Kathie Lee has released studio music albums and several books.

Early life and beginnings

Gifford was born Kathryn Lee Epstein in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, France, to American parents, Joan (born Cuttell; January 20, 1930 – September 12, 2017), a singer and Aaron Epstein (March 19, 1924 – November 19, 2002), a musician and former

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards. Canada "Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxi ...

. Aaron Epstein was stationed with his family in France at the time of Gifford's birth. Gifford grew up in

Bowie, Maryland Bowie () is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 58,329. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous c ...

, and attended Bowie High School. Gifford's paternal grandfather was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

from

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and her paternal grandmother had Native American ancestry. Her mother, a relative of writer

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

, was of French Canadian,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

descent. After seeing the

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

produced film ''The Restless Ones'' at age 12, Gifford became a born-again Christian. She told interviewer

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...

, "I was raised with many Jewish traditions and raised to be very grateful for my Jewish heritage." During high school, Gifford was a singer in a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

group, "Pennsylvania Next Right", which performed frequently at school assemblies. After high school graduation in 1971, Gifford attended Oral Roberts University in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, studying drama and music. During a summer in the early 1970s, she was a live in secretary/babysitter for Anita Bryant at her home in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. Her first regular appearances on national TV was as a singer on the game show "Name That Tune," hosted by Tom Kennedy in the late 1970s, in which she would sing small portions of songs that contestants would have to identify.

Career

Early career

Gifford's career took off in the 1970s as a vocalist on the game show ''

'' with

. In 1978, she joined the cast of the short-lived ''

Hee Haw ''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 1 ...

'' spinoff, ''Hee Haw Honeys''. She was also a correspondent and substitute anchor on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's '' Good Morning America'' in the early 1980s.

''Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee''

On June 24, 1985, Gifford replaced Ann Abernathy as co-host of ''The Morning Show'' on

WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neig ...

with

. The program went into national broadcast in 1988 as ''

'', and Gifford became well known across the country. Throughout the 1990s, morning-TV viewers watched her descriptions of life at home with her sportscaster husband Frank, son Cody, and daughter Cassidy. In 1990, when

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

held a poll for readers to select the most beautiful woman on television, ''Live!'' presented a week-long mock campaign to garner votes for Gifford. Gifford wound up winning the poll, receiving more than four times as many votes as the runners-up,

Jaclyn Smith Jacquelyn Ellen "Jaclyn" Smith (born October 26, 1945) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is best known for her role as Kelly Garrett in the television series '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), and was the only original female lead ...

and

Nicollette Sheridan Nicollette Sheridan (born 21 November 1963) is an English-born American actress. She began her career as a fashion model before landing a role in the short-lived ABC primetime soap opera '' Paper Dolls'' in 1984, as well as starring in the rom ...

. Philbin and Gifford were jointly nominated eight consecutive years in a row (1993 to 2000) for Outstanding Talk Show Host during the Daytime Emmy Awards. Gifford left the show on July 28, 2000.

''Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda''

On March 31, 2008, NBC announced that Gifford was to join its morning show, ''

'', as co-host of the fourth hour titled ''

Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda ''Today with Hoda & Jenna '' (also known as the fourth hour of ''Today'' or simply ''Hoda & Jenna'') is an American daytime television talk show on NBC, hosted by Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. The program airs as the fourth hour of NBC's '' ...

'', alongside

. This marked her return to morning television; in many markets, she aired directly after her old show, currently called ''

Live with Kelly and Ryan ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...

''. Because the fourth hour of ''Today'' airs live at 10:00 am ET, and ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' airs live at 9:00 am ET, Gifford's hour did not compete directly with her former show in most markets. Kotb and Gifford replaced

Ann Curry Ann Curry (born November 19, 1956) is an American journalist and photojournalist, who has been a reporter for more than 30 years, focused on human suffering in war zones and natural disasters. Curry has reported from the wars in Kosovo, Iraq, S ...

and Natalie Morales. 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 has averaged 2.15 million total viewers, an increase of 13 percent over the 2008 ratings. On December 11, 2018, it was announced that she would be leaving ''Today'' in April 2019. Her final Today Show appearance was on April 5, 2019 with a party, including a video by her children Cody and Cassidy Gifford. In 2019, they won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host.

Other media appearances and projects

Gifford has made guest appearances in films and television series, and has several independently released albums on CD, including 2000's ''The Heart of a Woman'', featuring the single " Love Never Fails". She appeared as a spokesperson for

Slim Fast SlimFast is an American company headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida that markets an eponymous brand of shakes, bars, snacks, packaged meals, and other dietary supplement foods sold in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, ...

diet shakes after her son Cody was born. She also was the face of Carnival Cruise Lines in the late 1980s and early 1990s, singing "If my friends could see me now!" In 1991 she christened the Carnival Ecstasy, the 2nd of the Fantasy Class of cruise ships. In 1994, she appeared as herself in an episode of the NBC sitcom '' Seinfeld''. She did a number of voice overs most notably as Echidna in the 1998 TV series ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

'' and in

Higglytown Heroes ''Higglytown Heroes'' is an American CGI-animated children's television series produced by Wild Brain that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel in the United States. The show's characters are shaped like Russian nesting doll ...

as the Mail Carrier Hero in 2004. In September 2005 she became a special correspondent on '' The Insider'', a syndicated entertainment magazine television show, ending her relationship with that program upon her co-hosting role with ''Today''. She played the role of Miss Hannigan in a concert performance of ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

'' at Madison Square Garden in December 2006. On an episode that aired March 27, 2010, she guest starred on ''

The Suite Life on Deck ''The Suite Life on Deck'' is an American teen sitcom that aired on Disney Channel from September 26, 2008 to May 6, 2011. It is a sequel/spin-off of the Disney Channel Original Series ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''. The series follows twin b ...

'', along with her real-life daughter, Cassidy. She appeared as herself in the 2015 television film '' Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!''. She has written numerous autobiographical books, ''Just When I Thought I'd Dropped my Last Egg: Life and Other Calamities'' in 2010, ''The Rock, the Road and the Rabbi'' in March 2018, and ''It’s Never Too Late: Make the Next Act of Your Life the Best Act of Your Life'' in 2020. Her book regarding the Christian faith, ''The Jesus I Know: Honest Conversations and Diverse Opinions about Who He Is'' was released in 2021. She has also written a number of children's books.

Current career

Gifford left ''Today'' in order to pursue a movie career as an actress, director, and producer. In 2018, she filmed '' Then Came You'' in which she co-stars with Craig Ferguson. That same year, she also filmed a Hallmark Christmas movie for

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (formerly known as Hallmark Movie Channel, and also known as HMM) is an American digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings. The channel was spun off from sister network Hallmark Chan ...

called ''A Godwink Christmas''. Gifford intends to make movies about the experiences of losing a loved one and being a widow, which she considers an underrepresented topic in Hollywood. Gifford has several projects in the works including sequels to ''Then Came You''. On April 28, 2021, Gifford was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to the television industry. Her star is located at 6834

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...

, only five stars away from that of her former co-host Regis Philbin.

Musical theatre

In the late 1990s, Gifford began working in musical theatre. She contributed a number of musical numbers to ''Hats'', and wrote and produced ''Under The Bridge'', based upon the children's book ''The Family Under The Bridge'' by Natalie Savage Carlson. In 2000 she released the album ''The Heart of a Woman'' on Universal. Gifford wrote the book and lyrics for '' Saving Aimee'', a stage musical about evangelist

Aimee McPherson Aimee Elizabeth Semple McPherson (née Kennedy; October 9, 1890 – September 27, 1944), also known as Sister Aimee or Sister, was a Canadian Pentecostalism, Pentecostal Evangelism, evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s,Ob ...

, which premiered in 2007 at the Signature Theatre in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

. The premiere starred actress

Carolee Carmello Carolee Ann Carmello (born September 1, 1962) is an American actress best known for her performances in Broadway musicals and for playing the role of Maple LaMarsh on the television series ''Remember WENN'' (1996–1998). She is a three-time ...

in the lead role. The show, retitled as '' Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson'', ran on Broadway from November 15, 2012, through December 9, 2012, with Carmello reprising her role as McPherson. On April 30, 2013, Carmello received her third

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nomination for the performance. On April 16, 2007, Gifford was a guest presenter at the Washington, D.C.

Helen Hayes Award The Helen Hayes Awards are theater awards recognizing excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are named in tribute of Helen Hayes, who is also known as the "First Lady of American Theatre." They ar ...

Ceremony, honoring contributions and professional accomplishments in theatre. In 2008, Gifford and David Friedman wrote a junior high school musical entitled ''Key Pin It Real''. The play depicts a coming-of-age story about a young girl named Key Pin. The first production took place in December 2008 in

Kendallville, Indiana Kendallville is a city in Wayne Township, Noble County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 9,862 at the 2010 census. History Kendallville was laid out in 1849. The city was named for Amos Kendall, 8th United States Postmaster Gen ...

, at

East Noble High School East Noble High School is a public high school located in Kendallville, Indiana and is the only high school that is part of the East Noble School Corporation. It serves to educate more than 1,000 students from the cities and towns of Rome City, ...

. Gifford is currently working on a musical adaptation of ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern self-published in 1943 and is in turn loos ...

'' with John McDaniel; McDaniel is composing music while Gifford is writing lyrics.

Other endeavors

Charity

Gifford is a celebrity ambassador for the non-profit organization

Childhelp Childhelp is a US non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse. Founded in 1959 as International Orphans, Inc. by Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson, Childhelp is one of the largest non-profit child abuse prevent ...

. She regularly makes appearances at fund raisers and events for the child abuse prevention and treatment organization and is an ardent supporter. Frank and Kathie Lee Gifford raised the money to build and continued to financially support two shelters in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

for babies born with

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

, or a congenital crack cocaine addiction. These shelters were named in honor of her children, Cody and Cassidy.

Labor rights activity

In 1996 Gifford was earning $9 million annually licensing her name to a brand of clothing sold at Walmart. Part of the proceeds went to charity. Charles Kernaghan's

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

group called the

National Labor Committee The Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, formerly known as the National Labor Committee (until 2011), is a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) that investigates human and labor rights abuses committed by large multinational c ...

reported that

sweatshop A sweatshop or sweat factory is a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. Some illegal working conditions include poor ventilation, little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting, o ...

labor was being used in manufacturing the Kathie Lee Gifford branded clothing. Gifford called Kernaghan's report "a vicious attack" on a TV broadcast called ''Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee''. Gifford explained during this broadcast that she was not responsible for the contract manufacturers that made her products. Kernaghan in his congressional testimony of April 1996, said that to make Gifford’s clothing, girls as young as 15 worked for 31 cents an hour, 75 hours a week. Kernaghan reported that a worker in Honduras smuggled a piece of clothing out of the factory, which had a Kathie Lee label on it. One of the workers, Wendy Diaz, came to the United States to testify about the conditions under which she worked. She commented, "I wish I could talk to

athie Lee Athie may refer to: *Athie (surname), a surname *Athie, Côte-d'Or, a commune in the department of Côte-d'Or *Athie, Yonne, a commune in the department of Yonne See also

* Athies (disambiguation) {{disambiguation, geo ...

If she's good, she will help us." Gifford later contacted federal authorities to investigate the issue and worked with US federal legislative and executive branch agencies to support and enact laws to protect children against sweatshop conditions. She appeared with President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

in support of the government's initiatives to counter international sweatshop abuses.

Personal life

Kathie Lee married Paul Johnson, a composer/arranger/producer/publisher, in 1976. They gained fame in Christian music, appearing on covers of Christian magazines. The marriage was strenuous from the start and in 1981, Johnson moved out. The couple divorced in 1982. On October 18, 1986, Kathie Lee married a second time, this time to

, an American football player and television sports commentator. It was his third marriage after marriages with Maxine Avis Ewart and Astrid Lindley. With Ewart he had three children. Kathie Lee was 23 years younger than Frank. They had two children together, Cody Newton Gifford (born March 22, 1990) and Cassidy Erin Gifford (born August 2, 1993). They also shared a birthday: August 16. Frank died on August 9, 2015, from natural causes at their

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and other ...

, home at the age of 84. In 2017, she released "He Saw Jesus", a very personal song Kathie Lee co-wrote (with songwriter Brett James) and dedicated to her husband. All proceeds from the song went to the international

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

Christian humanitarian aid charity

Samaritan's Purse Samaritan's Purse is an Evangelicalism, evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization that provides aid to people in physical need as a key part of its Christian missionary work. The organization's president is Franklin Graham, son of Chri ...

Discography

(as Kathie Lee Gifford on all albums except where indicated) *1978: ''Finders Keepers'' (as Kathie Lee Johnson) *1993: ''It's Christmas Time'' *1993: ''Christmas Carols'' *1993: ''Sentimental'' *1993: ''Christmas With Kathie Lee Gifford'' (double album) *1995: ''Dreamship: Lullabies for Little Ones'' *1995: ''Kathie Lee's Rock 'N' Tots Cafe: A Christmas "Giff"'' *2000: ''Heart of a Woman'' (as Kathie Lee) *2000: ''Born For You'' (as Kathie Lee) *2001: ''Goodnight, Angel'' (as Kathie Lee) *2004: ''Gentle Grace'' *2009: ''Everyone Has a Story'' (as Kathie Lee Gifford & Friends) *2009: ''My Way Home'' *2010: ''Super Hits'' *2013: ''Scandalous, The Musical'' (lyrics by) *2017: ''The Little Giant'' *2020: ''Then Came You'' (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack with Brett James & Sal Oliveri)

Filmography

Credits from Kathie Lee Gifford

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

page. ''Actress'' *Days of Our Lives: Nurse Callahan (1978, credited as Kathie Lee Johnson) *Hee Haw Honeys: Kathie Honey (1978-1979, credited as Kathie Lee Johnson) *Evening Shade: Stephanie Rodgers (1994, 1 episode) *Seinfeld: (1994, 1 episode) *Coach: (1995, 1 episode) *The Cosby Mysteries: (1995, 1 episode) *Women of the House: (1995, 1 episode) *The First Wives Club: (1996, Movie) *Second Noah: (1997, 1 episode) *Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special: Jill (1997, TV Movie: Voice) *Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child: Jill (1997, 1 episode: Voice) *Spin City: (1997, 1 episode) *The Tom Show: (1997, 1 episode) *Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show: (1997, 1 episode) *Style & Substance: (1998, 1 episode) *Diagnosis Murder: Mary Montgomery (1998, 1 episode) *Soul Men: (1998, 1 episode) *Caroline in the City: (1998, 1 episode) *The Simpsons: (1998, 1 episode: Voice) *Hercules: Echidna (1998, 4 episodes: Voice) *LateLine: (1999, 1 episode) *Hercules: Her to Zero (1999, Direct-to-VHS release: Voice) *Dudley Do-Right (1999, Movie) *Hey Arnold!: Jackie Lee (1999, 1 episode: Voice) *The Famous Jett Jackson (1999, 1 episode) *The Wonderful World of Disney: Dierdre (2000, 1 episode: Voice) *Touched by an Angel: Wendy/Jolene (1996-2000, 2 episodes) *The Amanda Show: Princess Whiff (2001, 1 episode) *Spinning Out of Control: Amanda Berkley (2001, TV Movie) *Just Shoot Me!: Allison Spencer (2001, 1 episode) *The Drew Carey Show: Vanessa Bobeck (2001, 1 episode) *Hope & Faith: Marge (2004, 1 episode) *Higglytown Heroes: Mail Carrier (2004-2005, 2 episodes) *That's So Raven: Claire (2005, 1 episode) *Handy Manny: Mrs. Hillary (2006, 1 episode) *Lipstick Jungle: (2009, 1 episode) *30 Rock: (2010, 1 episode) *The Suite Life on Deck (2010, 1 episode) *Adventures of Serial Buddies (2011, Movie) *Hot in Cleveland: Christal (2011, 1 episode) *The Mysteries of Laura (2015, 1 episode) *Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!: (2015, TV Movie) *Difficult People: (2015, 1 episode) *Donny!: (2015, 2 episodes) *Come to the Garden: Reader/Singer (2016, Movie: Voice) *Younger: (2016, 1 episode) *Nashville: (2017,1 episode) *Sharknado 5: Global Warming: (2017, TV Movie) *Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce: (2014-2017, 3 episodes)
A Godwink Christmas: Aunt Jane (2018, TV Movie)
*The Baxters: Lillian (2019, 3 episodes) *The Other Two: (2019, 1 episode) *A Godwink Christmas: Meant for Love: Olga (2019, TV Movie) *'' Then Came You'' (2020) ''Producer'' *Kathie Lee Gifford's Celebration of Motherhood (1993) *Kathie Lee's Rock n' Tots Cafe: A Christmas "Giff" (1995) *A Godwink Christmas (2018) *The God Who Sees (2019) *A Godwink Christmas: Meant for Love (2019) *'' Then Came You'' (2020) ''Herself'' *The $100,000 Name That Tune (1977) *Constantinople (1977) *The Funniest Joke I Ever Heard (1984) *Miss America (1985) *The New Hollywood Squares (1987) *Regis and Kathie Lee: Special Edition (1988) *The Pat Sajak Show (1988) *The Morning Exchange (1989) *Hee Haw (1989) *Donahue (1990) *Children's Miracle Network Telethon (1990) *Victory & Valor: Special Olympics World Games (1991) *Walt Disney World's 20th Celebration (1991) *The Bikini Open 5 (1991) *All My Children (1991) *ABC After School Special (1992) *Kathie Lee Gifford's Celebration of Motherhood (1993) *A Musical Christmas at Walt Disney World (1993) *The Crusaders (1994) *Glenn Miller's Greatest Hits (1994) *The Annual Friars Club Tribute Presents a Salute to Barbra Walters (1994) *All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! (1994) *The 10th TV Academy Hall of Fame (1994) *Walt Disney World Inside Out (1994) *CBS This Morning (1994) *1994 Holiday at Pops! (1994) *Kathie Lee Gifford...Looking for Christmas (1994) *Kathie Lee's Rock n' Tots Cafe: A Christmas "Giff" (1995) *Intimate Portrait (1995) *Super Bowl XXIX (1995) *Regis and Kathie Lee: Mom's Dream Come True (1995) *Miss North America (1995) *Kathie Lee's Rock n' Tots Cafe: Kathie Lee's Big Surprise (1996) *The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1996) *The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story (1996) *Maury (1992-1996) *Kathie Lee Gifford: We Need a Little Christmas (1996) *Kathie Lee Gifford: Just in Time for Christmas (1996) *Oops! The World's Funniest Outtakes 5 (1997) *The 25th Annual Daytime Emmy's (1998) *Biography (1996-1998) *Wheel of Fortune (1999) *Millennium Chorus: The Greatest Story Ever Sung (2000) *31st Annual Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards (2000) *The 27th Annual Daytime Emmy's (2000) *The 54th Annual Tony Awards (2001) *Late Night with Conan O'Brien (2001) *The 28th Annual Daytime Emmy's (2001) *AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Barbra Streisand (2001) *ESPN SportsCentury (2001) *Primetime Glick (2001) *See How They Run (2001) *The Rosie O'Donnell Show (1996-2002) *Late Night with David Letterman (1993-2002) *Star Search (2003) *The Wayne Brady Show (2003) *The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003) *The Jamie Kennedy Experiment (2003-2004) *Hollywood Squares (2000-2004) *Controversy (2004) *Good Day Live (2005) *The Tony Danza Show (2004-2005) *The Daily Buzz (2005) *Larry King Live (2000-2006) *The Reichen Show (2006) *The O'Reilly Factor (2008) *Celebrity Family Feud (2008) *Books Equal Gifts Commercial (2008) *Plymouth Rock Studios: The Series (2009) *Jimmy Kimmel Live (2004-2009) *VH1 Divas Live 2009 (2009) *Talk Stoop (2011) *CMT: 40 Greatest Love Songs (2011) *The Annual 2011 Actors Fund Gala Awards (2011) *Keeping Up With the Kardashians (2011) *Live With Kelly and Ryan (1998-2011) *The Lennon Sisters: Same Song, Separate Voices (2011) *The Apprentice (2009-2012) *The Soup (2012) *The Wendy Williams Show (2012) *Weekend Today (2012) *2012 CMT Music Awards (2012) *The Daily Show (2011-2012) *Theater Talk (2013) *Chelsea Lately (2013) *Steve Harvey (2013) *Chasing the Saturdays (2013) *Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2009-2013) *After Lately (2013) *Smash (2013) *Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (2013) *Kris (2013) *Top Chef Masters (2013) *The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson (2013) *The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1994-2013) *Bethenny (2014) *Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014) *The Michael J. Fox Show (2014) *The View (2004-2014) *Howard Stern Birthday Bash (2014) *Dateline NBC (2014) *Rachael Ray (2006-2014) *WWE Raw (2014) *The Insider (2006-2014) *The JBL & Cole Show with Renee Young (2014) *Inside Edition! (2014) *A Toast to 2014! (2014) *73 Questions (2015) *Whose Line is it Anyway? (2015) *The Kitchen (2015) *Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things (2015) *Good Morning America (2015) *The Meredith Vieira Show (2015-2016) *A Toast to 2016! (2016) *Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce (2017) *Home & Family (2017) *Talking Live with Dr. Robi Ludwig (2017) *The National Christmas Tree Lighting (2017) *Paula Abdul/Today Show (2017) *Billy Graham: An Extraordinary Journey (2018) *Access Hollywood (2018) *Today Show: An Insider's Guide to Italy (2018) *Harry (2018) *Megyn Kelly Today (2018) *The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2019) *Extra with Billy Bush (2014-2019) *Entertainment Tonight (2003-2019) *The Dr. Oz Show (2015-2020) *Celebrity Page (2017-2020) *Today Show (2004-2020)

Written works

Biographical *1976: (As Kathie Epstein) ''The Quiet Riot'' *1992: ''I Can't Believe I Said That!: An Autobiography by Kathie Lee Gifford'' *1995: ''Listen to My Heart: Lessons in Love, Laughter, and Lunacy'' *2010: ''Just When I Thought I'd Dropped My Last Egg: Life and Other Calamities'' *2014: ''Good Gifts: One Year in the Heart of a Home'' *2018: ''The Rock, the Road and the Rabbi'' *2020: ''It’s Never Too Late: Make the Next Act of Your Life the Best Act of Your Life'' Cooking *1993: (with Regis Philbin) ''Cooking With Regis & Kathie Lee: Quick & Easy Recipes From America's Favorite TV Personalities'' *1994: (with Regis Philbin) ''Entertaining With Regis & Kathie Lee: Year-Round Holiday Recipes, Entertaining Tips, and Party Ideas'' Christian faith *2004: ''Gentle Grace: Reflections & Scriptures on God’s Gentle Grace'' *2021: ''The Jesus I Know: Honest Conversations and Diverse Opinions about Who He Is'' *2022: (with Rabbi Jason Sobel) ''The God of the Way: A Journey into the Stories, People, and Faith That Changed the World Forever'' Children's books *1997: ''Christmas with Kathie Lee: A Treasury of Holiday Stories, Songs, Poems, and Activities for Little Ones'' *2010: ''Party Animals'' *2011: ''The Three Gifts: A Story About Three Angels and the baby Jesus'' (co-written with Michael Storrings) *2011: ''The Legend of Messy M'Cheany'' *2018: ''The Gift That I Can Give'' *2020: ''Hello, Little Dreamer''

In popular culture

A fictionalized version of Kathie Lee Gifford appears in the '' South Park'' episode "

Weight Gain 4000 "Weight Gain 4000" is the third episode of the first season of the American animated television series '' South Park''. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 27, 1997. In the episode, the residents of South Park excited ...

", voiced by

Karri Turner Karri Kathleen Turner (born December 21, 1966) is an American television actress who is best known for playing Lieutenant Harriet Sims in the television series '' JAG'' (1997–2005). Biography Turner was born in Fort Worth, Texas and raised i ...

. Gifford later re-appears in the episodes "

The City on the Edge of Forever "The City on the Edge of Forever" is the twenty-eighth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Harlan Ellison, contributors and/or editors to the script included S ...

", " The Return of Chef", "

200 __NOTOC__ Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 ''Ab ur ...

" and "

201 Year 201 ( CCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fabianus and Arrius (or, less frequently, year 954 ''Ab urbe condit ...

References

External links

* * * *
Kathie Lee Gifford discography (Music City)

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