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Kathie Lee Gifford became a staple of morning TV when she co-hosted Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee for 15 years. She followed that up with 11 years of co-hosting (and wine tasting) with Hoda Kotb on TODAY. These roles sounded like dream jobs, but Gifford wanted more.
“It was never my dream job. It was wonderful jobs with great people – I’m grateful to them,” Gifford told Yahoo Lifestyle. “But my dream job my whole life is doing what I’m doing right now.”
These days, Gifford lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and weaves his way through a list of passionate projects. The most recent is his book, It’s never too late, which is filled with stories of his career, meetings with iconic celebrities and knowledge about his faith. “I’m lucky to be in a season of my life right now where I’m happy on all levels. Happy on all levels and shooting all cylinders,” said Gifford.
In 1975, Gifford left Oral Roberts University to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles. She gave herself a year to be successful in the business and initially struggled to find work. “I learned that even though I didn’t get the job, I learned something by trying to get the job,” she explains.
Soon Gifford found gigs working as an extra on the set of Days of our lives and sing for other artists. She spent two years as the Bill Cosby opening musical actor (she writes about when he tried to kiss her) and made a name for herself on shows like Name this tune.
Gifford was eventually asked to co-host on Hello america, and in 1985, she joined Regis Philbin in the co-host seat on Live!
“I came down the block to burst into his set on day one and said, ‘Tada’,” says Gifford. “And he looked at me and said, ‘Is it going to be like this?’ And we were on our way to the races! “
The duo quickly found their rhythm and Gifford says Philbin taught them to take risks and make great TV by just letting life happen. “We never rehearsed a single moment for 15 years, not a single one. And neither of us had a clue that we would end up completely changing the landscape of daytime television for the rest of the story,” she says.
Kotb and Gifford shared a similar dynamic on TODAY, but there is another co-host who holds a special place in her heart. When Kotb took maternity leave in 2017, former Late Night host Craig Ferguson was called in to replace him. Gifford describes their couple as “explosive”.
“They put us 15 seconds late because we were too little naughty kids in the playground,” Gifford jokes. “And we bring out the absolute worst in each other, which is the best TV you can have.”
The two joined forces again in 2020, as co-stars of the romantic comedy Gifford wrote titled Then you came. Then she made a movie called The path and working on his next book, The Jesus I know. Gifford says finding a new community and support in Nashville helped her rebuild after her husband Frank Gifford died in 2015.
“When I first married Frank, I said, ‘Lord, just give me 10 years with this man, I’ll take 10,’ because he was 23 years older than me today. He gave me almost 30 years with him in our marriage, so 20 more than I asked for, and that’s God’s nature, ”Gifford says.
Now Gifford can’t wait. “I’m seeing someone now and we’re having a great time.” Her kids Cody and Cassidy got married in 2020 and she’s chasing the dreams she had when she first moved to Los Angeles all those years ago.
“Don’t live with regrets. It’s never too late, ”she says.
Content produced by Kat Vasquez
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