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{{BLP sources|date=August 2013}}
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2013}} {{use mdy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kathie Lee Gifford
| image = Kathie Lee Gifford at 2008 Emmy Awards.jpg
| image_size = 150px
| caption = Gifford at the 2008 Emmy Awards
| alt =
| birth_name = Kathryn Lee Epstein
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|8|16|60}}
| birth_place = ], ]
| years_active = 1970–present
| occupation = TV presenter<br />Talk show host<br />Actress<br />Singer-songwriter
| spouse = Paul Johnson (April 1976&ndash;1983; divorced)<br />] (October 18, 1986&ndash;present; 2 children)
| children = Cody Newton (b. 1990)<br />Cassidy Erin (b. 1993)
| URL = {{URL|kathieleegifford.com}}
| alma_mater = ]
}}

'''Kathie Lee Gifford''' (born '''Kathryn Lee Epstein''' on August 16, 1953) is an ] ], ], ], ], and ], best known for her 15-year run (1985&ndash;2000) on the ] '']'', which she co-hosted with ]. She has received 11 ] nominations and won her first ] in 2010 as part of the ''Today'' team.

Before her long stint in ]s, Gifford's first television exposure was that of ]'s singer/sidekick on '']'', from 1974 to 1978.

She also appeared in television advertisements for ] beginning in 1984.

On April 7, 2008, Gifford began co-hosting the fourth hour of ]'s '']'', alongside ].

==Early life==
Gifford was born '''Kathryn Lee Epstein''' in ], ], to Joan (née Cuttell; born January 20, 1930), a singer, and Aaron Epstein (March 19, 1924 &ndash; November 19, 2002), a musician and former ] ]. Aaron Epstein was stationed with his family in ] at the time of Gifford's birth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/88/Kathie-Lee-Gifford.html|title=Kathie Lee Gifford Film Reference biography|publisher=Filmreference.com|date=|accessdate= February 16, 2009}}</ref> Gifford grew up in ], and attended ].<ref name="Daily News">{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/gossip/1996/05/13/1996-05-13_kathie_lee_s_high-school_cla.html|title=Daily News|accessdate= February 19, 2009|author=George Rush and Joanna Molloy|quote=|location=New York|date= May 13, 1996}}{{dead link|date=February 2013}}</ref> During high school, Gifford was a singer in a ] group, "Pennsylvania Next Right," which performed frequently at school assemblies. During her senior year at high school she dated and went to the prom with ] (who later became an anti-abortion activist convicted for acts of terrorism).<ref>Juergensmeyer, M., "Soldiers for Christ", ''Terror in the Mind of God'', p. 22</ref> After high school graduation, Gifford attended ] in ], studying drama and music.

Gifford's paternal grandfather was ] ]ish from ] and her paternal grandmother was of ] ancestry. Her mother, a relative of writer ], was of ], ] and ] descent and was raised in a ] family.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=OuECAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39&dq=%22Her+grandfather,+Meyer+Epstein,+was+a+snake-charmer+and+carnival+barker%22&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22Her%20grandfather%2C%20Meyer%20Epstein%2C%20was%20a%20snake-charmer%20and%20carnival%20barker%22&f=false |title=New York Magazine - Google Books |publisher=Books.google.ca |date= July 22, 1996 |accessdate= December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/servlet/DCARead?standardNo=9780345512062&standardNoType=1&excerpt=true |title=Just When I Thought I'd Dropped My Last Egg |publisher=Worldcat.org |date= November 16, 2007|accessdate= December 10, 2011}}</ref> After seeing the ]-produced film, ''The Restless Ones'' at age 12, Gifford became a ]. She told interviewer ], "I was raised with many Jewish traditions and raised to be very grateful for my Jewish heritage."<ref>, ''Transcripts.cnn.com''</ref> Her brother, Rev. David Paul Epstein, is an ] ] preacher and pastor of ] in ].

==1970s==
Gifford represented Maryland in ] Pageant in 1970.<ref></ref>

During one summer in the early 1970s, she was a live-in secretary/babysitter for ] at her home in ]. Gifford's career took off in the 1970s (during her first marriage to Christian ]/]/]/publisher Paul Johnson) as a vocalist on the game show '']'' with ] (she performed the "sing a tune" segment as Kathie Lee Johnson). In 1978, she joined the cast of the short-lived '']'' spinoff, ''Hee Haw Honeys''.

==''Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee''==
Following her divorce from Johnson in 1983, Gifford met sports commentator ] (born August 16, 1930) during an episode of ]'s '']''; the couple married in 1986. By that time she was several months into her most famous television role, as a full-time morning talk show personality. On June 24, 1985, she replaced Ann Abernathy as co-host of ''The Morning Show'' on ] with ]. The program went into national broadcast in 1988 as '']'', and Gifford became well-known across the country. Throughout the 1990s, millions of morning-TV viewers watched her descriptions of life at home with her sportscaster husband and their son and daughter, Cody Newton Gifford (b. March 22, 1990) and Cassidy Erin Gifford (b. August 2, 1993). She appeared as a spokesperson for ] diet shakes after her son, Cody, was born. She also was the face of Carnival Cruises in the late 1980s and early 1990s, singing "If my friends could see me now!"

===1996 labor rights efforts===
In 1996 the ], a ] group, reported that ] labor was being used to make clothes for the Kathie Lee line, sold at ].<ref></ref> The group reported that a worker in ] smuggled a piece of clothing out of the factory, which had a Kathie Lee label on it.<ref>{{dead link|date=February 2013}}</ref> 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 . If she's good, she will help us."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2003/07/ma_447_01.html|title=Keeper of the Fire|publisher=Motherjones.com|date=|accessdate= December 16, 2009}}</ref>

Labor activist, ], spoke to the media and accused Gifford of being responsible for the sweatshop management activity. Gifford addressed Kernaghan's allegations on the air during ''Live'', explaining that she was not involved with hands-on project management in factories.<ref></ref>

Gifford later contacted Federal authorities to investigate the issue and worked with U.S. Federal legislative and executive branch agencies to support and enact laws to protect children against sweatshop conditions. She appeared with President ] at the ] in support of the government's initiatives to counter international sweatshop abuses.<ref>"Companies agree to meet on 'sweatshops'. The Washington Post, John F. Harris, Peter McKay. August 3, 1996, Page A10. "Pres Clinton stood side-by-side at the White House Aug 2, 1996 with talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford and a delegation of leading executives from the apparel industry to announce ..."</ref>

==Current career ==
Since ''Live'', Gifford has made guest appearances in films and television series, and has several independently released albums on ], including 2000's ''The Heart of a Woman'', featuring the single "Love Never Fails".<ref>Love Never Fails video on {{dead link|date=February 2013}}</ref><ref></ref>

In September 2005 she became a special correspondent on '']'', a syndicated entertainment magazine television show, ending her relationship with that program upon her co-hosting role with ''Today''.<ref></ref>

She played the role of Miss Hannigan in a concert performance of '']'' at ] in December 2006.<ref></ref>

On March 31, 2008, NBC announced that Gifford was to join its morning show, '']'', as co-host of the fourth hour, alongside ]. This marked her return to morning television; in many markets, she now airs directly after her old show, now called '']''. Because the fourth hour of ''Today'' airs live at 10:00am ET, and ''Live! with Kelly and Michael'' airs live at 9:00am ET, Gifford's hour does not compete directly with her former show in most markets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23871853|title=Kathie Lee Gifford returns to morning TV at ''Today''|publisher=Today.msnbc.msn.com|date= March 31, 2008 |accessdate= December 16, 2009}}</ref> Kotb and Gifford replaced ] and ]. The show's ratings decreased after Gifford's arrival, having drawn 1.9 million viewers the weeks before her arrival and 1.7 million a few months after, although the network maintains that the drop in viewers was seasonal and unrelated to the on-air talent.<ref></ref> More recently, the 4th hour of ''Today'' has averaged 2.148 million total viewers, an increase of 26 percent over those 2008 numbers.<ref></ref>

She is a recipient of the ] Award (as in "Oscar"), a silver Mickey Mouse statue award that was personally designed by ] himself. The award was presented personally by ]'s ], ], who said that only five had been given out previously.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/2000/07/29/2000-07-29_the_long_goodbye_is_over.html|title=The Long Goodbye Is Over|publisher=Nydailynews.com|date= July 29, 2000|accessdate= December 16, 2009|location=New York}}{{dead link|date=February 2013}}</ref>

On March 27, 2010, she guest starred on '']'', along with her real-life daughter, Cassidy.

Gifford is a celebrity ambassador for the non-profit organization ]. She regularly makes appearances at fund raisers and events for the child abuse prevention and treatment organization and is an ardent supporter.<ref></ref>

Frank and Kathie Lee Gifford raised the money to build and continue to financially support two shelters in ] for babies born with ] or a congenital ] addiction. These shelters were named in honor of her children, Cody and Cassidy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kathieleegifford.com/lamb04/charity/abccharity.php|title=Charities, Assoc. to Benefit Children|publisher=KathieLeeGifford.com|date= November 4, 2008|accessdate= December 16, 2009}}</ref>

On July 1, 2008, Gifford appeared on NBC's '']''. She and her friends and family competed against the cast of '']'' for their favorite charity. Gifford's family won the $50,000 for The Association to Benefit Children.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/2008/06/23/2008-06-23_kathie_lee_gifford_other_celebs_fuel_al_.html|title=Kathie Lee Gifford, other celebs fuel Al Roker's 'Celebrity Family Feud'|publisher=Nydailynews.com|date= June 22, 2008|accessdate= December 16, 2009|location=New York|first=Cristina|last=Kinon}}</ref>

==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'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kathieleegifford.com/lamb04/messages/6706mesg.php |title=Under The Bridge |publisher=KathieLeeGifford.com |date= November 4, 2008 |accessdate= December 16, 2009}}</ref> based upon the children's book ''The Family Under The Bridge'' by Natalie Savage Carlson.

In 2007, she premiered '']'', a stage musical about evangelist ], at the ] in ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kathieleegifford.com/lamb04/messages/sablog.php|title=Saving Aimee|publisher=KathieLeeGifford.com|date= May 15, 2007|accessdate= December 16, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/24/AR2007042402428.html|title=Kathie Lee Gifford's Leap of Faith| work = ] |date= April 25, 2007|accessdate= December 16, 2009|first=Jane|last=Horwitz}}</ref> The premiere starred actress ] in the lead role.<ref></ref> The show, now titled '']'', ran on Broadway from November 15, 2012, through December 9, 2012,<ref>. ].</ref> with Carmello reprising her role as McPherson. On April 30, 2013, Carmello received her third ] nomination for the performance.<ref>Tony Awards Official Website. . '']''. Retrieved May 1, 2013.</ref>

On April 16, 2007, Gifford was a guest presenter at the Washington, D.C. ] Ceremony, honoring contributions and professional accomplishments in theatre.<ref>.</ref>

In 2008, Gifford and ] wrote a junior high school musical entitled ''Key Pin It Real''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/21/929229.aspx|title=Kathie Lee: At home on Today|publisher=Allday.msnbc.msn.com|date=|accessdate= December 16, 2009}}</ref> The play depicts a coming-of-age story about a young girl named Key Pin. The first production took place in December 2008 in ], at ].<ref>{{dead link|date=February 2013}}</ref>

Gifford is currently working on a musical adaptation of '']'' with ]; McDaniel is composing music while Gifford is writing lyrics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stlmag.com/St-Louis-Magazine/June-2011/Meet-John-McDaniel-Director-of-Opera-Theatre-of-Saint-Louis-039-The-Daughter-of-the-Regiment/# |title=Meet John McDaniel, Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' The Daughter of the Regiment - St. Louis Magazine - June 2011 - St. Louis, Missouri |publisher=Stlmag.com |date= |accessdate= December 10, 2011}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{IBDB name|42102}}
* {{IMDb name|0317537}}
* {{iobdb|Kathie|Gifford|Lee}}
*
*

{{S-start}}
{{S-media}}
{{Succession box|before=] and ]| title=] host| years=1991-1995 (co-host with ])| after=] and ]}}
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{{Today}}

{{Authority control|VIAF=79412499}}

{{Persondata
|NAME = Gifford, Kathie Lee
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Epstein, Kathryn Lee
|SHORT DESCRIPTION = Television presenter/talk show host/actress/singer-songwriter
|DATE OF BIRTH = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1953|8|16}}
|PLACE OF BIRTH = ], ]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gifford, Kathie Lee}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Gifford, Kathie Lee}}
] ]

Revision as of 15:49, 12 September 2013

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