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American actress, singer and songwriter Kathie Lee Gifford was born Kathie Lee Epstein on August 16, 1953, in Paris, France, but was raised in Bowie, Maryland. At the age of 12, Kathie became a born-again Christian after she saw an educational film by the Rev. Billy Graham. She studied drama and music at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK. She made her television debut on "Hee Haw Honeys" and was a vocalist on the game show "Name That Tune," which led to the role of Nurse Callahan on the soap opera "Days of Our Lives." In 1985, she replaced Cyndy Garvey as co-host of "The Morning Show" on WABC-TV with Regis Philbin. The show went to national broadcast in 1988, "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee," where she remained as Regis's sidekick for 15 years. Kathie is also the spokesperson for Slim Fast and Carnival Cruise Lines. She is married to football hall of famer Frank Gifford, and they have two children: a son Cody and a daughter Cassidy. Kathie Lee also devotes her time to a children's charity that sponsors shelters in New York City for babies born with HIV and congenital crack cocaine addiction.

Born Kathryn Lee Epstein in 1953, Kathie Lee Gifford is a singer and television personality best-known for co-hosting Live with Regis and Kathie Lee with Regis Philbin.Throughout the 1970s, as Kathie Lee Johnson, Gifford gained notoriety as a singer on the game show Name That Tune, and in the early '80s, she could be seen as a correspondent on ABC's Good Morning America. In 1984, her profile was raised significantly when she became the spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Lines in a number of TV ads. In 1985, she began co-hosting a New York morning show with Regis Philbin that would eventually become Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. The show began airing nationally on ABC in 1989, and Gifford remained as host until 2000. She was eventually replaced by Kelly Ripa. In addition to her television and recording career, Gifford received a good deal of press for her long and sometimes rocky marriage to sportscaster Frank Gifford. Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

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