Cody Gifford, the son of iconic TV presenter Kathie Lee Gifford and former New York Giants
football player Frank Gifford, grew up in the spotlight with his famous parents.
His mom often spoke of Cody and his sister, Cassidy, while hosting Today and Live! With
Regis and Kathie Lee, allowing viewers to join in the journey of kids becoming adults.
And Cody sure has grown up, he turned 30 in 2020 and got engaged to his girlfriend in
2019!
Almost two decades before Cody popped the question, he had a part in Disney's Model
Behavior in 2000, suggesting an acting career was in his future. However, Kathie Lee's son
went the traditional college route after high school, attending Oxford University in Tennessee
and the University of Southern California, according to Closer Weekly.
While still in school, Cody began to pursue a behind-the-scenes career in Hollywood. He
worked at Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions before moving over to Twentieth Century Fox
as a writer's assistant.
Cody has since launched his own company, Gifford Media Group, which appears to be in its early
stages. Cody has the company listed in his Twitter bio, and Trademark Elite shows that
the trademark for the company was filed in February 2020.
On a more personal note, Cody Gifford got engaged to his college sweetheart, Erika Brown,
in May 2019.
As for the pair's sweet love story, they met while in school at the University of Southern
California. Erika is also very close to Cody's sister, Cassidy Gifford.
Erika is a dancer and actor who has made appearances on the TV shows Hawaii 5-0 and Dexter, among
other projects. Her acting credits might have helped her fully integrate into the famous
family, as evidenced by her appearance on Family Feud with Kathie Lee Gifford, Cody,
Cassidy, and her new husband, Ben Wierda, one of a couple appearances that Cody and
his extended family have had on the game show.
Although Cody doesn't seem to actively use his social media accounts, Erika, Kathie Lee,
and Cassidy all share photos and stories of him from time to time. Cassidy often shares
cute throwback photos, including ones of the whole family from before their dad, Frank
Gifford, passed away. The NFL legend died in 2015 at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut,
where Cody and Cassidy grew up.
There's no doubt that Kathie Lee adores her children, but the family dynamic has changed
since the kids have all grown up.
Along with the fact that Cassidy and Cody are both engaged and establishing their own
lives, they've also both based themselves in Los Angeles, while their mom lives across
the country in New York City.
However, distance alone can't keep this family apart. Kathie Lee told People in 2017,
"They come home a lot, and it means the world to me. When your children ultimately become
your dear friends, you know you've made a switch in the relationship."
Kathie Lee also noted that Cody and Cassidy are, quote, "both great human beings who realized
that their mama needs them now more than they need [her]."
That may be how Kathie Lee sees it, but as for Cody, he still looks up to his mom. While
opening up about his famous parent in April 2019 when Kathie Lee was exiting the Today
show, he sat beside his sister, saying,
"To us, she's a legendary mom."
Cody Gifford may be taking more of a behind-the-scenes role in TV and film with his company, Gifford
Media Group, but he has spent some time on screen, most notably alongside his famous
mother, Kathie Lee Gifford.
Aside from popping up on his mom's shows when he and his sister, Cassidy, were young, Cody
also worked with Kathie Lee on Today as an intern when she hosted the fourth hour with
Hoda Kotb.
Not only was Cody an all-around helper, but he also co-hosted a segment called "Weekend
Movie Preview," where he gave his own recommendations and film critiques.
However, Kathie Lee didn't always make the job easy for her son, playfully joking around
with gags like teasingly telling other employees that he has a crush on them. That's probably
one of the biggest drawbacks to working with your mom!
But just because she has some fun at her son's expense doesn't mean she doesn't support him.
Gushing about Kathie Lee's influence, Cody added,
"She's been very, very supportive of everything I do, whether it's sports, whether it's this,
whether it's pursuing a career in film studies and ultimately hopefully directing one day."
Despite some criticism from viewers, Today show executive producer Jim Bell defended
the decision to hire Cody amid cries of nepotism, telling the New York Post,
"Is he getting an opportunity here? Yeah, but so be it. We like him and he's a smart
kid and a good kid."
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