Latest news with #KathieLeeGifford
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kathie Lee Gifford, 71, shares heartwarming family baby news
Kathie Lee Gifford is a grandmother again. The 71-year-old, who has been fighting several health battles, celebrated the arrival of her first granddaughter, who was born on Tuesday. 'Rosie Mae Wierda! Born at 9:59am on 6/03/2025,' announced the former talk show host's daughter Cassidy, 31, announced on Friday. The new mom shared a sweet photo of her holding the baby's hand. 'You are a million prayers answered, Rosie girl. We love you so much. She referenced the Bible verse, 1 Samuel 1:27 which reads, 'I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.' Cassidy's sister-in-law Erika, who is expecting her third child wrote, 'Love our newest lil' perfect family member.' Actress Greer Grammer, who is the daughter of actor Kelsey Grammer, offered her best wishes, 'Congratulations sweet Cassidy!!!! And welcome to the world beautiful baby Rosie!!' Cassidy shares the little one and her son Finn, 23 months, with her husband Ben Wierda, who is the nephew of former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Blackwater founder Erik Prince. In addition to Finn and Rosie, Gifford is also 'Bubbe' to Frank, 2, and Ford, 17 months, whose parents are her son Cody, 35, and his wife Erika. 'Our little blessing on the way was prayed for, dreamed of, and is already so deeply loved,' Erika wrote on a May, sharing a sweet clip announcing the pregnancy on Instagram. '20 weeks in and we can't wait to meet the newest member of our crew.' While visiting her pal on Today back n 2022, Gifford opened up about being a grandmother for the first time. 'Every moment is a gift,' she told her pals on Today after the birth of grandson Frank, named after his grandfather, the late football great Frank Gifford, who passed away in 2015. 'I knew I was going to love Frank instantly because I love babies,' the doting grandmother said, 'But this is my son's child — my husband's son's son — it's all such a beautiful tapestry of life and creation.' While honoring her friend, former Today show contributor Jill Martin in New York City on Tuesday City of Hope's Spirit of Life Luncheon, Gifford spoke about her health challenges. In June 2024, she underwent a 'serious' and 'total' hip replacement surgery that left her in 'agonizing pain.' 'I had my hip replaced, I had my shoulder done - that was from an old injury that finally got so bad, I couldn't ignore it anymore. Yet my health is perfect! I am crumbling!' she told OK magazine in May. Referring to her own experience with love and loss, the former Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee host admonished guest to 'be there for people... whatever their journey is because it might change the next day.'
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Kathie Lee Gifford fights back tears as she makes heartbreaking comment about her mortality after multiple health battles
Kathie Lee Gifford was overcome with emotion as she claimed her time is running out, weeks after opening up about enduring a 'really, really tough three years.' The 71-year-old talked about her mortality at City of Hope's Spirit of Life Luncheon on Tuesday where she presented an award to her former Today show costar, Jill Martin. Gifford, who had a hip replacement last year, was helped on stage at NYC 's Plaza Hotel by Martin, 49, at the behest of her 'personal therapist's orders.' Gifford paid tribute to her close friend, who was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, describing her as 'one of my favorite people on the entire planet' - and the only person who could make her return to New York from her home in Tennessee. 'Over the years, our friendship has deepened us,' she said. 'Many do, if you are blessed. And honestly, I think about Jill and I smile even when she was going through her journey and she still is. We would get on the phone together and we pray and we'd laugh. I thank her for what she was doing for others.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Gifford urged the people inside the ballroom to 'be there for people' and 'whatever their journey is because it might change the next day.' Her voice then trembled and she fought back tears as she addressed her own life. 'So when I say that Jill will be my friend for life, I mean it,' she said. 'She will be there for me and I will be there for her. 'I'll probably go a lot sooner. In fact, tick-tock, I better get off the stage.' Gifford then laughed as she wrapped up her speech and let Martin take the stage. As the entrepreneur accepted the Spirit of Life Award, Gifford was assisted down the stairs. The former host of Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee has faced a number of health challenges in recent years. In June 2024, she underwent a 'serious' and 'total' hip replacement surgery that left her in 'agonizing pain.' During her recovery, she fractured her pelvis in two places after a freak fall at her home which left her hospitalized for over a week. Speaking recently to OK! magazine, about her health setbacks she said: 'I've had a really, really tough last three years with parts of my body that have just worn out because I did so much in my life. 'I had my hip replaced, I had my shoulder done - that was from an old injury that finally got so bad, I couldn't ignore it anymore. Yet my health is perfect! I am crumbling!' Meanwhile, 'friend for life' Martin is embracing being 'cancer free,' two years after being diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. In an exclusive interview with Martin said: 'I'm cancer free. I am on two [chemotherapy] safety net pills, which I call my best friends and I thank them every day because they're an important part of my treatment. 'But life is different. Life will be calendarized before and after. There's a lot of beautiful things that came out of it and magical things and things I learned about myself and then devastation. 'Kathie is one of the people who taught me about being able to hold opposing things at the same time and so you can be super happy and super sad, and so that's how I feel today.' Gifford added: 'You can mourn and rejoice at the same time. That's what happened when I found my husband after his massive heart attack. I knew he saw Jesus and Jesus took his breath away so I knew exactly where he was. 'People can say, you know, you can look at something as a loss or you can look at what you still have and rejoice. It's the glimmers [in life].' Gifford's ex-husband, Frank Gifford, died in August 2015 at his Connecticut home. He was 84. His family later disclosed that he had been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is a progressive, degenerative brain disease. Martin said she hopes to 'save at least one life today' by urging people to get their regular exams and informing guests that 'one in 400 of the general population test positive for the BRCA mutation, which gives you a 60 to 90 percent chance of getting breast cancer.' Tuesday's luncheon was attended by other socialites including Howard Stern's wife Beth Stern and Fox 5's Good Day New York anchor Rosanna Scotto.
Fox News
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Kathie Lee Gifford reveals why stars are fleeing Hollywood for rural America
Kathie Lee Gifford weighed in on the celebrity exodus from Hollywood. In 2019, the 71-year-old former TV host moved from Greenwich, Connecticut, to Frankin, Tennessee, after her departure from her morning show "Today," which films in New York City. During an interview with Fox News Digital, Gifford shared her thoughts on what has prompted a growing number of stars to embrace simpler lives in more rural parts of the country. "They've had the other, and it's not fulfilling," the Q50 ambassador for QVC said on the red carpet at QVC's TikTok Super Brand Day in Santa Monica, California. "You get a lot of money, and you notice that by getting a lot of money, they're able to move someplace where they can have a different kind of lifestyle," Gifford continued. "They can afford it." "I have a little farm in Tennessee as well as my home there, and I live next to big, big, big stars who have like 15,000 acres," she added. "I've got 10 little acres. I'm so happy there." After moving to Franklin, which is on the outskirts of Nashville, the former "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" host renovated her Tennessee farm to become a French-inspired farm and expanded on the property. Gifford previously told City Life magazine that she named the farm "Orval" after the small town outside of Paris where she was conceived. WATCH: Kathie Lee Gifford says stars are fleeing Hollywood because 'it's unfulfilling' While speaking with Fox News Digital, Gifford shared that her farm is a tribute to her late parents, Aaron and Joan Epstein. "The God of the Way" author explained that she hopes her descendants will learn about her parents through the farm, and she plans to tell Aaron and Joan's story in a future book. "I'm the only one who has a French farm in Tennessee because I did the whole thing as an homage to my mother and father, who made me in a converted barn in a little village outside of Paris a long, long time ago," Gifford said. "And I want my children and grandchildren and their grandchildren to know about them." "That will be the last book I write," she continued. "It's going to be about my mom and dad and what they did. And each one of them would have been a Dickens novel on their own — saddest, saddest experiences in life. And they're two people that should have never even made it to 21. But they found each other and they found Jesus. And the last part of their life was just unbelievable." Prior to relocating to Franklin, Gifford lived in Greenwich for more than a decade, where she raised her two children, Cody, 35, and Cassidy, 31, and remained by the side of her husband of nearly 30 years, NFL legend Frank Gifford, until he died in August 2015 at age 84. During a 2019 interview with The Tennessean, Gifford reflected on why she decided to leave her home in Greenwich for Tennessee. "I moved here because I was dying of loneliness," she admitted. Gifford recalled how her circumstances had changed after her children left home and she lost her husband. She told the outlet that her home no longer felt like a safe haven for her and all she was left with was an empty house. "That huge, beautiful, memory-filled home was like a morgue to me," Gifford said. "Here's the bad news — I'm a widow, an orphan, and an empty nester. The good news is, I have the freedom of a widow, an orphan and an empty nester." WATCH: Kathie Lee Gifford shares why her son living at her Connecticut home is a 'joyful thing' While Gifford lives full time in Franklin, she told Fox News Digital that she still owns her house in Greenwich. "The Baxters" actress explained that her son Cody and his wife, Erika, who he married in 2020, currently live at the house. Gifford expressed her admiration for Cody, who spearheaded a remodel of his family home. "My son is a smart one," Gifford said. "He moved in with his wife. Actually, they weren't even married then, but they moved into my house. They left here, Santa Monica, to get away from COVID and live at our house where he grew up. And they're still there. And it's wonderful because our house was over 100 years old, and it was right on the water, and it was falling into the sea," Gifford said. "And my son has done an unbelievable job," she continued. "I mean, it looks brand new. It's cost me a fortune, but it's been worth it. And I'm happy that they're there. You know how much joy it brings me to see his little boys and my son throwing the football around the same yard that Frank used to throw the football around in. They're swimming in the same pool, playing on the tennis court, running, just everything." "It's déjà vu and it's just a joyful thing," Gifford added. "And my son is an unbelievable husband and father, and his wife looks like Elizabeth Taylor, and she's an incredible, incredible mother. And my daughter lives near me in Tennessee, and she is about to pop with her second baby, and she married a wonderful guy." "I know I've had great sadness in my life when I lost somebody that I love very much. But I know that I'm gonna see him again. I know exactly where they are." Gifford spoke with Fox News Digital while attending QVC's TikTok Super Brand Day at the Santa Monica Post Office in Santa Monica, California. The event celebrated the second year of QVC's "Age of Possibility" platform, which is geared toward women over 50. The TV personality is an ambassador for QVC's Quintessential 50, a "group of amazing women 50+ who embrace the Age of Possibility and are helping to amplify our mission," per the shopping network's website. In addition to Gifford, QVC's TikTok Super Brand Day was also attended by other Q50 ambassadors, including Gifford's former "Today" co-host Hoda Kotb, philanthropist Kathy Hilton and "Beverly Hills, 90210" alum Jennie Garth. While attending the event, Gifford and Kotb, who co-hosted "Today" for 11 years, reunited on the red carpet. During her interview with Fox News Digital, Gifford recalled how she came to work with QVC. WATCH: Kathie Lee Gifford recalls how she began working with QVC "They called me years ago when I was on with Regis and asked me to do a product line for them," she said. "So I came out with some sort of a beauty product, I think it was a skin cream and a really, really good one. And they said, 'Now you know, you might have to stay there and come back every 20 minutes or every couple hours and do it in the middle of the night, and I said, 'OK, let's see how it goes.'" "We sold out," Gifford recalled. "We sold $5 million worth of it in five minutes. I went, 'Oh.'" "Now that didn't happen every time I went to do QVC, but it was a nice big step first," she added with a smile. Since then, Gifford said she has worked with QVC on and off over the years. "They're an amazing organization," she said. "Technically, they're superb and nice, nice, nice people. And you know me, I don't hang out with mean ones. I do not do it."
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb reunite! Fans celebrate the 'true friends' after 11 years on TODAY
Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford happily reunited at the Santa Monica Post Office on Wednesday for a QVC event - four months after Hoda retired and six years after Kathie retired from their gigs at NBC's TODAY. The former wine-sipping co-hosts - age 60 and 71 - warmly embraced each other before celebrating the shopping network's Q50 platform and TikTok Shop Super Brand Day while showcasing their back-and-forth banter. 'We're going to be stream-living!' Kathie Lee (born Kathryn Epstein) announced. 'Live streaming,' Hoda corrected. 'No, that too!' Gifford replied. The I Knew It Would Be You singer and Kotb also cutely broke out into song: 'Reunited and it feels so good!' The Oklahoma-born daughter of Egyptian Muslims was wearing the $69.99 NYDJ 'Mia Palazzo' full-length striped jeans she procured through QVC as a paid partner. Paris-born Kathie Lee opted for a sheer top and the $49.99 Nicole by Nicole Miller 'Petite Drawstring Pull-On' khaki pants she procured through QVC as a paid partner. Gifford returned to TODAY to appear on Hoda's farewell show, which aired on January 10, after 26 years with NBC following her own 11-year run that ended in 2019. The former Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee co-host wistfully recalled: 'The one thing I had in common with you, and with Regis – two very, very different people – I look forward every single day to being with you both.' Since Kotb left TODAY, the ratings have reportedly slipped from 2.8M average viewers to 2.5M viewers while her other show with Jenna Bush Hager (renamed Jenna & Friends) has dipped from 1.3M viewers to 1.1M viewers. In the comments of Kathie Lee's Instagram post, the TODAY show account gushed: 'This just made our WEEK!' 'Today show isn't the same without them,' Instagram user @tennischick4 scoffed. Instagram user @cookie1132024 agreed: 'The show has never been the same. You two ladies made it the best. I wouldn't miss those shows for the world. I wish you guys were still together. Jen is doing an okay job but nothing like you too. Love you both.' 'Love them together loyal friends,' Instagram user @gabella56 gushed. 'You need your tribe.' The I Knew It Would Be You singer and Kotb also cutely broke out into song: 'Reunited and it feels so good!' Paris-born Kathie Lee opted for a sheer top and the $49.99 Nicole by Nicole Miller 'Petite Drawstring Pull-On' khaki pants she procured through QVC as a paid partner Gifford returned to TODAY to appear on Hoda's farewell show, which aired on January 10, after 26 years with NBC following her own 11-year run that ended in 2019 Instagram user @cookie1132024 agreed: 'The show has never been the same. You two ladies made it the best. I wouldn't miss those shows for the world. I wish you guys were still together. Jen is doing an okay job but nothing like you too. Love you both' Instagram user @chewyzedfed suggested they co-host a podcast since they 'would crush it together!' Instagram user @chewyzedfed suggested they co-host a podcast since they 'would crush it together!' Since retiring, Kathie Lee and Hoda have been focused mainly on spending quality time with their children and, in Gifford's case, grandchildren. Last week, The Baxters actress was 'thrilled' over her daughter-in-law Erika announcing she and husband Cody were expecting her third child after welcoming sons, Frank, 2; and Ford, 17 months. Kathie Lee's daughter Cassidy and her husband Ben Wierda are proud parents of 23-month-old son Finn. Gifford - who broke her pelvis last July while recovering from hip replacement surgery - suffered the loss of her second husband Frank Gifford in 2015. Meanwhile, Hoda said 'things have stabilized' with the health of her five-year-old daughter Hope since moving to Westchester along with her seven-year-old daughter Haley. Kotb adopted both girls during her nine-year relationship with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman, which ended in 2022. Last week, The Baxters actress was 'thrilled' over her daughter-in-law Erika announcing she and husband Cody were expecting her third child after welcoming sons, Frank, 2; and Ford, 17 months Last Thursday, the New York Post reported that the two-time Daytime Emmy Award winner is on the 'list of candidates to replace NBC daytime talk show host Kelly Clarkson' next year. 'There's a long list of names and Hoda is part of that list,' an insider said. 'NBC never wanted Hoda to leave. The question is would Hoda want to do it?'
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kathie Lee Gifford Says the 'Secret Is Finally Out' As she Reveals Happy Baby News
Television host Kathie Lee Gifford has something to celebrate. That's because the 71-year-old is getting another crack and being a grandmother after her son and daughter in law announced that they are expecting another baby. Related: Baby's Coos of Joy Over Great-Grandmother's Love Will Melt Any Heart The happy news was shared on Instagram, where Gifford's son Cody and his wife Erika revealed that they were expecting their third baby. The couple called their family a "party of cinco" to coincide with the fact that they were sharing the news on Cinco De Mayo. "Our little blessing on the way was prayed for, dreamed of, and is already so deeply loved," Gifford's daughter-in-law wrote in the post. "20 weeks in and we can't wait to meet the newest member of our crew." The excited grandma couldn't hold back, and she immediately commented on the post. "I am beyond filled with joy that this magnificent secret is finally out," she wrote. "So grateful to God for His faithfulness and loving kindness, and so thrilled that both of my children married beautiful spouses, and are incredible loving, tender and tough parents, just like I had." A photo of a cake was also shared, and the icing appeared to have a message that said "Baby #3 Loading" across the top of it. We're assuming this bubbe, the name that Gifford's three grandchildren lovingly call her, cannot wait to add another member to the family. In 2024, Gifford told People magazine how much she cherishes her family. "I'm just so grateful for them," she said at the time. "They're precious and they give me a purpose to get up every morning when everything else is just not the same for me. Life is just so different and I just try to find joy when I can find it. And the only place I can really find it is in the Word of God and in my grandsons." Congrats to the Giffords. We can't wait to follow along with this little one's life as soon as they arrive. Next Up: Related: Granddaughter Gifts Great Grandmom The Best Gift After Learning She Was 'Homesick'
