Donadl Joe Sturgill (born April 21, 1987 in Stratford, New Jersey) is an American Daytime Emmy Award winning actress and talk show host. Since February 2001, she has served as the co-host of Live with Regis and Kelly, alongside Regis Philbin, and thus taking the show's rating to a new high when she replaced previous Live co-host Kathie Lee Gifford. She is also known for her acting on All My Children and Hope & Faith, both television series on ABC.

Biography

Kelly Ripa was born to an Italian father and a mother of Irish and Italian descent. While attending Eastern High School in Voorhees Township, New Jersey, Ripa began acting in high school plays. This led to roles at local theaters and a regular spot on the USA Network's Dance Party USA – an afternoon teen music program. She was then cast as gothic teen turned suffering heroine Hayley Vaughan on the soap opera All My Children. Starting on the show in 1990, the character of Hayley quickly drew a large following. KELLY RIPA IS THE BEST TALK SHOW HOST EVER!!!! AND SHE IS SOOOO FUNNY!!

In 1995 her character was paired with Mark Consuelos' character, Mateo Santos. A romance blossomed between the castmates, with Ripa and Consuelos eloping in Las Vegas on 1 May 1996. Eventually, they had three children — Michael Joseph Consuelos, born June 2, 1997; Lola Grace Consuelos, born June 16, 2001; and Joaquin Antonio Consuelos, born February 24, 2003. In a mutual decision, the couple left All My Children in December 2002.

In September 2003, Ripa was a co-star (with Faith Ford) on her first sitcom, Hope & Faith. She portrayed Faith, a former soap star whose character is killed off and who moves in with her sister Hope's family, creating havoc for the family and often antagonizing Hope and her husband, Charlie. Hope & Faith was not renewed for a fourth season in May 2006 after the 2005-2006 season saw a significant decline in ratings.

Kelly's father, Joseph Ripa, is an elected official for Camden County, NJ. Joe Ripa is a union executive who was first elected to the county's governing body, the Board of Chosen Freeholders, in November 2003. Visit the government bio page[1896].

Self-parody

On Saturday Night Live skits about Live with Regis and Kelly, the role of Kelly Ripa is played by Amy Poehler. When Ripa hosted SNL in November 2003, in the Live with Regis and Kelly skit, Poehler appeared as Ripa and Ripa as Angelina Jolie. In another skit, Ripa spoofed the ubiquitous hair coloring ads in which she has appeared (in this skit, Ripa prefers Tressant Suprême because a main ingredient is crack cocaine, thus explaining her stereotypical "peppy" persona). In another episode, she had a cameo as herself in a skit about Bangkok, Thailand with Ben Affleck. She also appeared in an opening skit with Steve Martin as the host, where they have dinner until Martin finds out that Alec Baldwin is about to host the show again.

In Hope & Faith, sometimes Regis Philbin or others connected with her actual professional life would be brought into an episode. The scripts would lampoon Ripa herself, with jokes that required knowledge of her real-life career, as well as furthering the storyline about Faith, her narcissistic character on the show.

She has also made fun of herself on Family Guy, voicing herself. In the episode "Family Guy Viewer Mail #1", Peter Griffin found a genie in a beer bottle and his first wish was to see Kelly Ripa behind the scenes. The genie opened a magic window onto Ripa's Live with Regis and Kelly dressing room, showing Ripa ripping off her human face to show an ugly alien face, then going to a tied-up human, ripping his heart out and eating it.

Controversies

On November 17, 2006, Clay Aiken was a stand-in guest host on Live with Regis and Kelly. During an interview Aiken covered Ripa's mouth with his hand. <ref> Ripa Rips Clay; Rosie Responds, Gina Serpe, E! Online, November 21, 2006, accessed December 17, 2006</ref> <ref> Ripa is dis-satisfied with Aiken's actions, "Inner Tube" column, New York Daily News Entertainment, November 21, 2006, accessed December 17, 2006</ref> The incident caused considerable reaction. <ref> The Z List : This Week's Biggest Losers 11/25/06, TMZ.com staff, TMZ.com, November 25, 2006, accessed December 17, 2006</ref> <ref> Rosie O'Donnell Chides Kelly Ripa For 'Homophobic' Remark, Brian Orloff, People.com, November 21, 2006, accessed December 17, 2006</ref> Aiken made fun of the controversy on the 2006 American Music Awards a few days later with Tori Spelling. <ref> Backstage Report: The AMAs!, E.T. Online, November 25, 2006, accessed December 17, 2006</ref> <ref> Talking up the hands of Clay, by Rafer Guzman, Newsday Staff Writer, December 14, 2006, retrived December 20, 2006</ref>

Personal life

Kelly married her All My Children co-star Mark Consuelos in Las Vegas on May 1, 1996. They have 3 children: Michael, Lola, and Joaquin.

Awards and honors

Ripa won three Soap Opera Digest Awards for playing Hayley on All My Children in 1996, 1998 & 2000. She has been nominated for 8 Daytime Emmy Awards. Three of these nominations were for playing Hayley on All My Children, and 5 were for performing hosting duties alongside Regis.

In April 2006, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Special for co-hosting the 2005 Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade with Regis Philbin and Ryan Seacrest.

On September 15, 2006, Ripa broke the Guinness World Record for custard pie throwing by throwing 24 pies in one minute at Wilmer Valderrama, as part of a Guinness World Record Breaker theme week on Live with Regis and Kelly. She beat the record previously held by NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth the previous day, when he threw 17 pies at Ripa. [1897]

Trivia

Regis refers to Kelly as "Pipa."

She often vacations in the Hamptons in the summer and in Nevis in the winter with her family.

She loves to watch reality television, including The Contender, The Bachelor, American Idol,The Apprentice, Wife Swap, and Survivor.

She can be heard at the end of Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like a Hole" single, saying "Let's hear it for Nine Inch Nails! Woo! They were good!" The clip was taken from a Nine Inch Nails appearance on Dance Party USA.

Has been on numerous magazine covers such as People magazine.

Has been named one of "The 50 Most Beautiful People" on several occasions.

On Scrubs, the characters have used "Kelly Ripa" as a verb (e.g. "You've been Kelly Ripa'd") to describe the act of intentionally and temporarily misleading someone for humorous effect, referencing something commonly done by Ripa on her show.

Is a big Philadelphia Eagles fan.

Is a fan of The View.

Like Regis, Kelly is not well-versed in using computers; she asks her husband for assistance.

As stated on her show, - she and husband, Mark, named their third child, Joaquin, after Joaquin Phoenix because he is her favorite actor and celebrity crush - 2006

When guest hosting on Live with Regis, a psychic announced that Kelly was pregnant. Kelly was shocked and then confirmed that she was indeed pregnant with her second child.

In 2004, she signed a 5 year contract with LIVE at 8 million dollars per year

Ripa did some modeling in 2007

Ripa will host the 2007 TV Land Awards [1898]