Kelly Ripa

Background

Kelly Maria Ripa, daughter of Esther Ripa and Joseph Ripa, a bus driver labor union president, was born and raised in Berlin, New Jersey. Ripa’s sister, Linda, is a children’s book author. Ripa was raised Catholic and since 2009, her father has been the Democratic County Clerk for Camden County, New Jersey. She is also the first in her family to go into the acting profession. She started studying ballet when she was age three and also plays the piano. Graduating from Eastern Regional High School in New Jersey, Ripa was a cheerleader during her high school days. Her drama teacher in high school encouraged her to pursue acting. While in senior year, she was discovered while performing in “The Ugly Duckling” in a local theater production. She then moved on to attend Camden County College to study psychology but dropped out and relocated to New York City to pursue an acting career.

In 1986, Ripa’s first exposure to national television came when she was featured as a regular dancer on the television dance music reality television, “Dancin’ On Air,” which led to “Dance Party USA.” While her career goal was to be a newscaster at the time, she regularly handled the cast news reports. Ripa’s first major acting role was in 1990 when she played ‘Hayley Vaughan’, a troubled party girl, in “All My Children.” Her 12-year stint was concluded in 2002 but, to join in celebrating the soap opera’s 40th anniversary, she returned for two episodes in 2010.

Ripa’s career on “Live!” show started when replaced Kathie Lee Gifford and she was later announced as the official replacement on February 5, 2001. Ripa got credited for bringing a new freshness to the show as within months of her officially replacing Gifford, the young-audience demographic of the show, now renamed “Live With Regis and Kelly’s” increased by 80 percent. She is married to Mark Consuelos, who was a fellow actor in “All My Children” with whom she now shares three kids.