Kelly Ripa has been living large on Live for two decades. But while she might easily
share countless, hilarious details about her personal life for millions of fans,
there's a lot more to this star than what makes the air. From soap opera
maven to daytime talk show icon, here's the gorgeous transformation of Kelly Ripa.
Kelly Ripa was born to perform. Shortly after she made her world debut in 1970 she was
already singing, dancing and entertaining her parents. She told South Jersey Mag,
"There was always a lot of love and laughter in the house, and tons of fun."
Ripa was enrolled in dance lessons, the high school cheer squad, and local theater. And
it quickly became obvious that she enjoyed anything that had to do with entertainment.
While she grew up in a working-class New Jersey family, Ripa held onto some pretty
extraordinary dreams. She wanted to act in the Big Apple, later sharing with ELLE,
"[My mother] worried that I'd either get my heart broken or live under a bridge."
It all started with Ripa landing a part in her middle school play.
It was then that she knew she wanted to take her talents all the way.
Once she moved to New York at just 19 years old, her big break followed almost immediately after.
Though Ripa is now widely known
for her talk show, it was her dancing that first launched her career. In 1986, she joined the smash
hit TV show Dance Party USA, where viewers could catch Ripa movin' and shakin' it every night.
Passionate about pirouettes , Ripa says she honed those moves as a kid, telling Dance Magazine,
"I was a ballet dancer for 13 years. And have the feet to prove it."
"The last time I actually danced en pointe was 1986."
Luckily, she got to use her other skills on the small screen, too,
interviewing some of the biggest musical acts of the '80s — including Rick Astley and the members
of the Jets. Of course, those talk show talents would come in rather handy later in Ripa's career.
The industry kept calling
for Ripa, and after a couple years of dancing on TVs across America,
she hit the streets of New York City looking for her next gig. One afternoon,
she happened to stop the production offices of All My Children. And, as she explained to CNN,
"I went there looking for extra work, just dropping off headshots. I was
brand new to the business, I didn't really understand a lot about it."
As soon as a casting assistant saw her, she asked Ripa to screen test. It was six months before the
aspiring actor heard anything from production, but they ultimately gave her a shot. And in 1990,
she booked her first big role on the series, as party girl, Hayley Vaughan.
For the next twelve years, Ripa dedicated herself to the show, telling CNN,
"I really spent my young years there."
"The cops said I could find Trevor Dillon here."
"Yeah, right here. Trick or treat? What can I do for you sweetheart?"
"That's just great, Uncle Trevor, you don't even recognize me?"
Five years into her new gig,
casting for All My Children was on the search for Ripa's new co-star. They looked far
and wide for the character of Mateo, and they found it in actor Mark Consuelos.
And as soon as she saw his headshot, Ripa recalled via Lunch with Bruce,
"I saw my entire future with him. I don't believe in any of that, and now I do."
"Mateo, when did you get here?"
"I've been standing here for like an hour."
"You're kidding. I had no idea you were here."
"Yeah, it's my house."
The two quickly realized they had chemistry off-camera, too,
and in 1996, the couple eloped in Las Vegas. Ripa shared on her show,
"We were signing our marriage certificate, and the lady at the counter said, 'Here you go,
honey. Here's an audio cassette just in case he tries to deny it in the morning.'"
"There's a reason that people on soaps tend to marry each other,
date each other, you don't meet any other people. You're there 18 hours a day."
At the time, Ripa had been so focused on becoming an actor that marriage had
never even crossed her mind. That is, until she met Consuelos. But the show
seemed to be setting her up for success in all aspects of her life. She told CNN,
"It's been a gift that's just kept on giving all these years."
One year after she and Mark eloped , Ripa
was pregnant with her first child. She was still starring on All My Children, but because her
character wasn't pregnant, the crew had to get creative in hiding her bump. Ripa carried around
plants and was told to suck in her stomach to hide her growing belly. And as she joked to People,
"Eventually, they buried me alive in a cave up to my eyes.
Because I was so pregnant that the only part of that did not look pregnant was my eyeballs."
The couple's first son, Michael, was born in 1997. But sneaking a baby bump
around the set didn't seem to faze the seasoned actress. She even did
it again with her daughter Lola, in 2001. Ripa once quipped to WebMD,
"I think children are like pancakes:
You sort of ruin the first one, and you get better at it the second time around."
"We love you so much and we just wanted to tell you how much we appreciate you."
After Lola, came the couple's third child, Joaquin . But even though Ripa is constantly
appearing on TV, she also prioritizes time for her role as a mother. She's even shared lessons
she's learned from her own mother in her book, I Love You, Mom. Ripa told Good Housekeeping,
"My mom didn't teach me normal stuff, like how to do laundry or cook.
She thought it would be better for us to have ballet lessons than do chores around the house."
As a soap opera regular,
Ripa was perhaps the last person anyone would have expected to host a talk show — especially
her future co-star. The late Regis Philbin wrote in his autobiography,
"It came from, frankly, such an unexpected source — I mean, a young soap opera actress?"
Back in 2000, Ripa was in hair and makeup, prepping for a day of shooting All My Children,
when Live called over to the soap's set. Philbin was searching for a new co-host
to replace Kathie Lee Gifford, and the guest host for the day had bailed at the
last minute. The morning chat show needed someone to step into the role right away,
so they asked if anyone was camera ready. Ripa recalled with Ryan Seacrest,
"I just happened to be the one standing there."
Just when Ripa thought the day couldn't get any crazier, one of the guests on the show happened
to be a psychic — who ended up revealing Ripa's top-secret pregnancy news on the air.
"Are you expecting?"
"Is that a yes?"
"I haven't told my boss yet."
It was such a genuine moment that the young actor's reaction got her the job offer.
Two years later, Ripa left All My Children to tackle the talk show world full-time.
As Ripa accepted the Live gig,
members of her inner circle warned against it. Ripa told Redbook,
"A lot of my friends said, 'You're not a talk-show host,
you're an actor — if you go on talk shows that will be the end of your acting career.'"
But the star trusted her gut, and it paid off in spades. She said,
"After I took the talk show, I was offered the sitcom [Hope & Faith]."
By 2003, Ripa was busy taking over a talk show during the day and continuing to act
on a TV series at night. But however busy she may have been,
moving from a soap opera to a sitcom was important to the star. Ripa told Today,
"I was always the victim on All My Children: I was shot, stabbed,
kidnapped, poisoned, gassed, blown up. […] There were very few laughs for me."
"No one's gonna hire me to do anything dignified."
The comedy series couldn't have been a better fit for Ripa. Her Hope & Faith character's
backstory was that of a soap star who had disappeared from daytime TV. Unfortunately,
the sitcom was cancelled after three years. But it appears that the news
was actually a blessing in disguise for this busy co-host. She later said, via Wonderwall,
"[I] never wanted to work that hard again."
"There comes a time in your life where you say,
'I am done with this regular routine. I am destined for greatness.'"
Even though she was co-hosting one of the most popular daytime talk shows ever,
Ripa still felt she needed some extra excitement in her life. She told Today,
"My morning show is literally an hour of work."
In 2007, she and hubby Mark Consuelos partnered up to start a production company.
Milojo Productions — named after the first two letters of each of the couple's kids'
names — produces everything from scripted series to reality shows.
One of the first projects the team produced was a soap opera-centric reality show for E!
called Dirty Soap. But the company's first Emmy nomination came after creating a documentary
called The Streak for ESPN. Then, Ripa was ready for a new challenge. She later told ELLE,
"I also enjoy writing, but will it lead to anything? I don't know.
I'm probably not very good, but lack of talent hasn't stopped me before."
In 2011, Regis Philbin retired from Live,
and Ripa found herself alone at the helm of the successful series. The duo had starred alongside
each other for 11 years, and his retirement rocked her world. She shared with People,
"When Regis left it was so scary. It makes you terrified. Like,
can I do this without Regis being here?"
"Thank you for everything. I love you."
It goes without saying that Philbin left behind some iconic shoes to fill
and Ripa didn't rush into the process of finding a replacement. According to People,
she was initially pulling for Anderson Cooper, but at the time, he was just launching his own show.
By 2012, the new co-host had finally been tapped. Ripa initially tried to keep the decision under
wraps — even shutting down her social media to build the suspense — but the news was leaked prior
to the premiere. And NFL star Michael Strahan got the job. Ripa joked backstage after the show,
"Oh, my gosh, am I done with these surprise announcements and these
shocking, thrilling reveals. I can't stand it!"
Little did she know, another shocking announcement would be coming her way.
"I'm leaving this show… to go over to GMA full time."
In 2016, the search for a new
co-host was on again, when Strahan announced that he would be leaving Live for an anchor post on
Good Morning America. However, Ripa was allegedly filled in on the news only moments beforehand,
and according to The New York Times, she, quote, "felt blindsided." Ripa was a no-show
for the rest of the week, and it suddenly seemed as though she was the one who was done with Live.
The week after Strahan broke the news of his impending departure,
Ripa returned to Live to explain her absence. She told the audience,
"I needed a couple of days to gather my thoughts. After 26 years with this company,
I earned the right."
She then told Strahan that she was excited for his next chapter. For his part, Strahan
claims he was happy that Ripa returned to her post. He told her on the show,
"This show has been transforming for me. And I know this show lives on,
because you are the queen of morning television."
A year later, Ripa found her new co-host in Ryan Seacrest.
When the worldwide
Covid pandemic hit in early 2020, many shows halted production. Live, however,
decided to improvise. In March, both Ripa and Seacrest made the decision to co-host from their
own homes. After all, the series had been on the air for nearly 32 years, and the show must go on.
While the vibe may have been a little more "do-it-yourself," the laughs were still there,
and the ratings were through the roof. Still, despite how they made it work, Ripa couldn't wait
to get back to her seat in the studio. But she did have one stipulation. She joked to People,
"I'm not coming back if I have to wear pants or bottoms of any kind."
"There's nobody here. It's pretty much — yep, everybody that works here."
After 180 days of shooting remotely, the beloved duo finally returned to the Live
studio in New York City in September. But, of course, things were slightly different.
Not only are they without an audience, but Ripa and Seacrest were strategically seated six feet
apart. To create the illusion that the two Live hosts were sitting together like old times,
they were edited into a closer-appearing split screen. While Ripa seemed excited to be back on
set, co-hosting from the comfort of her home is something she seems to secretly miss. She joked,
"Low definition is my best friend.
I couldn't believe how gorgeous I was when I was working from home."
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