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Kathie Lee Gifford (born '''Kathryn Lee Epstein''' on August 16 , 1953 ) is an American Playwright , Singer , songwriter, and Actress , famous for her stint on the Television Talk Show '' Live With Regis And Kathie Lee '', which she co-hosted with Regis Philbin for 15 years. She has received 11 Emmy nominations. EARLY LIFE Kathie Lee Gifford was born in Paris , France to Aaron Leon Epstein and his wife, Joan. Her father was serving in the United States Navy . She grew up in Bowie, Maryland , in the United States where she was a cheerleader for Bowie High School. One of her grandparents was Jewish and her mother was a Methodist ; Gifford grew up in a culturally Jewish environment, but she became a Born-again Christian at the age of 12 (after seeing a Christian education film directed by Billy Graham ), and told interviewer Larry King, "I was raised with many Jewish traditions and raised to be very grateful for my Jewish heritage." http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0005/11/lkl.00.html ''Transcripts.cnn.com'' Her brother, Rev. David Paul Epstein, is an evangelical Baptist preacher and pastor of Calvary Baptist Church on West 57th Street in Manhattan , New York City . David and Kathie Lee have remained close through the years. Kathie Lee attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma , studying drama and music. 1970S During one summer in the early 1970s she was a live-in secretary/babysitter for Anita Bryant at her home in Miami. Gifford's career took off in the 1970s (during her first marriage to Composer / Arranger / Producer / Publisher Paul Johnson) as a vocalist on the game show '' Name That Tune '' with Tom Kennedy (she performed the "sing a tune" segment as Kathie Lee Johnson). In 1978 , she joined the cast of the short-lived '' Hee Haw '' sitcom spinoff, ''Hee Haw Honeys''. Gifford appeared in television advertisements for Carnival Cruise Lines beginning in 1984 . The ads were the first Cruise Line ads to air on Network Television . ''LIVE WITH REGIS AND KATHIE LEE'' Following her divorce from Johnson in 1983 , Gifford met sports commentator Frank Gifford during an episode of ABC 's '' Good Morning America ''; the couple married in 1986 . Coincidentally they share the same birthday, 23 years apart. By that time, she was several months into her most famous television role, as a full-time morning talk show personality. In 1985, she replaced Ann Abernathy as co-host of ''The Morning Show'' on ) and Cassidy Erin Gifford (born in 1993 ), although Gifford has been gently ridiculed for constantly talking about her children on the air. She has appeared as a spokesperson for Slim Fast diet shakes after the birth of Cody. The inspiration for the name Cody (the first born child) is when Gifford was watching Frank on a Monday Night Football game in 1989 featuring the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears (the Browns went on to win 27-7 with Webster Slaughter catching a 99-yard touchdown pass and therefore tying the NFL record). Cody Risien was an offensive lineman for the Browns and got much attention during the course of the contest because he was struggling with removing a piece of dirt or other foreign object from his eye that forced him to the sideline. The announcers kept on panning the camera over to Risien and the name Cody was indelibly etched on Gifford's brain. Gifford has stated that her religious faith has carried her through several personal crises. In 1996 , the National Labor Committee , a Human Rights group, reported that Sweatshop labor was used to make clothes for the Kathie Lee line, sold at Wal-Mart ."The Man Who Made Kathie Lee Cry," Washington Post, July 31, 2005 The group reported that a worker in Honduras smuggled a piece of clothing out of the factory, which had a Kathie Lee label on it."Zoned for Slavery: The Child Behind the Label," 1995, a Crowning Rooster Production.[http://www.americas.org/bookstore/category_5006_product_2607 One of the workers, Wendy Diaz, came to the United States to testify about the conditions under which she worked. She commented that "I wish I could talk to Lee . If she's good, she will help us."[http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2003/07/ma_447_01.html] Labor activist Charles Kernaghan spoke to the media and accused Gifford of being responsible for the sweat shop 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. Gifford subsequently contacted Federal authorities to investigate the issue, and worked with U.S. Federal legislative and executive branch agencies to support and enact new U.S. laws to protect children against sweat shop conditions. She appeared with President Clinton at the White House in support of U.S. Federal government initiatives to counter international sweat shop abuses. (Years later, on April 13 , 2007 , in an unrelated appearance at the National Press Club, Gifford, in answer to questions, stated that Kernaghan had called her three months after his first public allegations against her and apologized.) In 1997 , it was reported by the tabloid '' The Globe '' that Frank had engaged in an adulterous affair with Trans World Airlines Flight Attendant Suzen Johnson . After initially denying the allegation, Frank admitted the transgression after it was revealed the entire episode was caught on videotape. A transcript of his tryst indicated his desire to engage in anal sex. ESPN later reported that Johnson was paid $75,000 by '' The Globe ''. http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/Gifford_Frank.html ''Espn.go.com'' The Atlantic put the figure at $125,000. http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99aug/9908tabloids.htm ''Theatlantic.com'' Johnson later appeared in a Playboy pictorial. LATER CAREER Since ''Live'', Gifford has made guest appearances in films and television series, and has several independently released albums on CD , including 2000s ''The Heart of a Woman'', featuring standards from the Big Band era as well as Contemporary Christian songs. Since September 2005 , Gifford is a special correspondent on '' The Insider '', a syndicated entertainment magazine television show. Kathie Lee also devotes time to Variety: The Children's Charity . She has also sponsored and supported two shelters in New York City for babies born with HIV or a congenital Crack Cocaine addiction. These shelters were named in honor of her children, Cody and Cassidy. PLAYWRIGHT In the late 1990s , Gifford began working in musical theatre as a playwright. 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, a book which won the Newbery Honor in 1959 . In 2007 , she premiered '' Saving Aimee '' at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia. '' Saving Aimee '' is about the life and times of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson . The premiere stars Tony-nominated actress Carolee Carmello in the role of McPherson. On April 16 , 2007 , Gifford was a guest presenter at the Washington, DC Helen Hayes Award Ceremony, honoring contributions and professional accomplishments in theatre. POP CULTURE REFERENCES In the second episode of '' South Park '', " Weight Gain 4000 ", Kathie Lee comes to South Park as Mr. Garrison 's childhood rival. In the episode, Mr. Garrison tries to kill Kathie Lee, but ultimately fails. (Gifford did not provide her own voice; she was impersonated by voice actress Mary Kay Bergman ) On the , Chef sings in the song ''No Substitute'' (track 9) how he wants to make love to Kathie Lee. In a Season 3 episode of '' Hey Arnold! '', Kathie Lee is parodied as Jackie Lee. Gifford appeared as Miss Hannigan in a concert performance of '' Annie '' at Madison Square Garden in December 2006. Her line of clothing has been discussed in the documentary film '' The Corporation '' as it was discovered that despite pledges to children's charities, the clothes were in fact manufactured in South American sweatshops by children as young as 13 years old (though Ms. Gifford was apparently oblivious of that fact until it became national news.) She appeared as a guest on the Jiminy Glick show. In a story line in the comic '' Get Fuzzy '', Satchel is tricked by Bucky into sewing soccer balls for no money (he promised to pay Satchel what other dogs in the area were paid, which was nothing). After learning this, Rob says that Bucky is "Kitty Lee Gifford", in a reference to her clothes being manufactured in South American sweatshops. Singer/songwriter Jill Sobule wrote a song about Gifford, "Kathie Lee", appearing on her EP '' It's The Thought That Counts '' (Original 2001 issue only). In Season 1, Episode 5 of '' Sam And Max '' an "Enemy List" is filled with "Kathy Lee Gifford", her parents, friends, etc. She is a recipient of the Mousecar Award, which was personally designed by Walt Disney .http://search.ew.com/EWSearch/ew/search/search.html?type=et%3ATV%3Bew%3ASandra+P.+Angulo%3B&search=Walt+Disney In the Bloodhound Gang song: 'Shutup' Kathie Lee is mentioned, in a list of people Jimmy Pop doesn't like: "I hate Regis and I hate Kathie Lee"...Genius During February 2007 Gifford was attending a CD signing event at the Paramus Mall in, Paramus , New Jersey . During this event Gifford was attacked by Joey Boots, a member of The Wack Pack from the '' Howard Stern Show ''. After signing Boots CD, Boots removed a box from a shopping bag, threw it at Gifford, from which two dozen White Mice emerged. Boots was evicted from the mall and Gifford was unhurt. EXTERNAL LINKS
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