Kelly Ripa

The Early Years

Kelly Ripa has co-hosted Live with Regis and Kelly with Regis Philbin since 2002.

Kelly Marie Ripa was born October 2, 1970 in Stratford, New Jersey. She is the oldest daughter of Joe, a bus driver, and Esther Ripa, a homemaker. Along with sister, Linda, she took piano and ballet lessons at a young age. Ripa, a former cheerleader, was urged to pursue an acting career by her manager, Cathy Parker, after a performance in her high school senior play, The Ugly Duckling. In the late 1980s, Ripa was a regular dancer on the popular teen music show, Dance Party, USA.

Her Big Break

In 1990, Kelly Ripa hit the big time, landing an award-winning role on the ABC soap opera, All My Children. She had just started her freshman year in college, but her dream was to act, so she packed her bags, moved to New York City and started her 12-year stint on the daytime drama. She was cast as gothic teen Hayley Vaughan. She left the show in 2002.

More Television Success

Ripa with husband Mark Consuelos whom she met on the set of All My Children

For Kelly Ripa, her role on All My Children may have been her big break, but her rising success didn't stop there. Over the next few years, she made the switch from daytime to evening television and back again by starring in two of television's popular shows.

Live With Regis and Kelly

In July 2000, Kathie Lee Gifford left the ABC talk show, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. Philbin decided to have a different co-host every day until he found the perfect partner. In February 2001, Ripa joined Philbin and Live with Regis and Kelly was born.

It didn't take long for Kelly Ripa to win the viewers' hearts. The rapport between the two hosts was evident, ratings skyrocketed and the morning show was rejuvenated. In May 2001, Regis was honored with a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host. Ripa's current contract, in which she is reportedly being paid $40 million, expires in 2009.

Hope and Faith

Ripa made the leap to prime time television in 2003 when she was cast opposite Faith Ford (Murphy Brown) in the moderately popular show Hope and Faith. Hope, played by Ford, was a married mom of three who lived in Cleveland, Ohio. Her life was turned upside down by the arrival of her celebrity sister, Faith (played by Ripa), who was a soap opera star unexpectedly killed off by her evil twin.

Hope and Faith fared well the first two seasons on ABC, but ratings dwindled and the show was cancelled after its third season in 2006. During its run, the show was nominated for six television awards.

Other Appearances

Kelly Ripa has appeared on numerous television shows and several movies (including performing voice overs). They include:

• Television
  • Entertainment Tonight (2006, 2007)
  • Saturday Night Live (2003, 2004, 2006)
  • 1-800-Missing (2005)
  • Ed (2002)
  • The Anna Nicole Show (2002)
  • The Parkers (2000)

• Movies
  • Kermit: A Frog's Life (2005)
  • Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003)
  • Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)
  • It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)
  • The Stand-In (1999)
  • Marvin's Room (1996)

Ripa will also lend her voice to two upcoming films:

• Delgo (2007)
• Fly Me to the Moon (2007)

Controversy

Ripa with Hope and Faith co-star Faith Ford.

That's right, even Kelly Ripa has a little controversy in her life. In November 2006, she reportedly blasted pop crooner Clay Aiken for what she said was "disrespectful and rude behavior" during his appearance as guest host on Live with Regis and Kelly. At one point during an interview with Dancing with the Stars season three winners Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke, Aiken covered Ripa's mouth with his hand in what was interpreted as a gesture for her to stop talking. Ripa, upset with Aiken's action, reportedly said, "I don't know where that hand has been." Rumors circulated that Ripa's remark was "homophobic," since Aiken has in the past refused to answer questions regarding his sexual orientation. The talk show host said her comment was spurred by "germaphobia." Ripa said she has since let the incident go.

Personal Life

Kelly Ripa's marriage to actor Mark Consuelos is right out of a fairy tale, or in this case, a soap opera. While on All My Children, Ripa's character hooked up with Mateo Santos, the character played by Consuelos. A romance blossomed between the couple both off and on the set. On May 1, 1996, they eloped in Las Vegas and now have three children -- Michael Joseph, Lola Grace and Joaquin Antonio. Together, they left the soap opera circuit in 2002.

Awards and Honors

• Daytime Emmy Award, Outstanding Special Class Special, Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade (2005) co-hosted with Regis Philbin and Ryan Seacrest (2006)
• E! Entertainment, "Top 20 Entertainers" (2001)
• People magazine, "25 Most Intriguing People" (2001)
• Soap Opera Digest, Outstanding Younger Leading Actress, All My Children (2000)
• New York International Independent Film & Video Festival, Best Actress, The Stand-In (1999)
• Soap Opera Digest, Hottest Romance, All My Children (1998), shared with husband/co-star Mark Consuelos
• Soap Opera Digest, Outstanding Younger Leading Actress, All My Children (1996)

Kelly Ripa Trivia

• Before becoming an actress, Ripa wanted to be a newscaster.
• In 1999, she appeared in a Jockey bra advertisement along with other ABC daytime soap stars.
• In February 2001, Ripa, along with guest host Wilmer Valderrama (That 70s Show), made it into the Guinness Book of World Records when she hit him in the face 24 times with custard pies.
• In 2003, she co-authored the book, I Love You, Mom! with notables Sally Jesse Raphael, Diane Sawyer, Donna Hanover, Christine Todd Whitman and Carole Black.