Portrait of Kathie Lee Gifford

Birthday profile

Kathie Lee Gifford

Kathie Lee Gifford, American talk show host, singer, and actress

Born
August 16, 1953
Age in 2026
73
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1953

About Kathie Lee Gifford

Kathryn Lee Gifford (née Epstein; born August 16, 1953) is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress, and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee. Gifford is also known for her 11-year run with Hoda Kotb, on the fourth hour of NBC's Today show (2008–2019). She has received 11 Daytime Emmy nominations and won her first Daytime Emmy in 2010 as part of the Today team. Gifford's first television role was as Tom Kennedy's singer/sidekick on the syndicated version of Name That Tune in the 1977–1978 season. She also occasionally appeared on the first three hours of Today and was a contributing NBC News correspondent. Gifford married Paul Johnson, a composer, arranger, producer and publisher of Christian music, in 1976, and they divorced in 1982. She is the widow of sportscaster and former NFL player Frank Gifford, whom she married in 1986. Gifford has released studio music albums and several books, with her music and writings featuring spiritual and uplifting themes.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Kathie Lee Gifford timeline

  1. Gifford's first television role was as Tom Kennedy's singer/sidekick on the syndicated version of Name That Tune in the 1977–1978 season.
  2. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee.
  3. Gifford is also known for her 11-year run with Hoda Kotb, on the fourth hour of NBC's Today show (2008–2019).
  4. She has received 11 Daytime Emmy nominations and won her first Daytime Emmy in 2010 as part of the Today team.

The world when Kathie Lee Gifford was born

Kathie Lee Gifford was born in 1953. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1953

  • #1 song"Doggie in the Window" – Patti Page
  • Top movieFrom Here to Eternity
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookCasino Royale – Ian Fleming

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentEdmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summit Mount Everest
  • Top headlineCoronation of Queen Elizabeth II
  • Technology milestoneWatson and Crick discover the structure of DNA
  • Defining fadTV dinners
  • Notable inventionTV dinner
  • World population2.68 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonMinneapolis Lakers (NBA)
  • U.S. population159.0M

1953 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Kathie Lee Gifford's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19532026
Gas$0.29$3.45/gal
Average home$9,500$435,000
Average income$5,900$67,500
Minimum wage$0.75$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.60$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population159.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, MusicBrainz. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.