Kelly Ripa: From Soap Opera Darling To Talk Show Royalty
The queen of daytime soaps, daytime talk shows, and daytime laughs, Kelly Ripa is the type of celebrity you automatically feel is your best friend. It's a talent that very few people possess. As Robert J. Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, once told The Washington Post, "We can sit around drinking coffee and talk about what we did yesterday with friends. [But] when compelled to do that in front of a camera and make it seem as natural? . . . That's a really difficult skill. There are very few people who can do it at all and practically no one that does it as well as Kelly Ripa."
So how does this mother, host, and one-of-a-kind entertainer really do it all? Let's take a look at Kelly Ripa's ever-stunning transformation throughout the years from soap opera darling to talk show royalty.
She grew up in a happy New Jersey household
Kelly Ripa's bright energy and zest for life were shaped from an early age. As a child growing up in New Jersey with parents Joseph Ripa, a bus driver and labor-union executive, and Esther Ripa, a stay-at-home mom, Kelly's life was defined by happiness and fun.
"There was always a lot of love and laughter in the house, and tons of fun," the TV star told SJ Magazine. "My mom and dad are the reason I am who I am today," adding that her personality on "Live with Kelly" is merely a reflection of her happy New Jersey upbringing. "What you see on the show is just the way I used to act at home," she said. "I mostly talk to nice people and I give back what I get. But treat me with disrespect, and you'll learn real fast that I'm from Jersey."
She had a very normal school experience
Before Kelly Ripa started dancing on national television (more on that shortly), she actually had a pretty ordinary high school experience. In February 2023, the TV host opened up on "Live With Kelly and Ryan" about what she and her friends used to get up to in New Jersey. "I had this job in high school at a baby clothing store called Bravo Kids and after — like Friday nights, after work when we would close up, we would go to TGIFs for the mozzarella sticks," she said. "That's all the joy you need on a Friday after working at the baby store," chimed in her co-host Ryan Seacrest.
Ripa went on to recall how she and her friends also spent the afternoons after high school at a local deli, where they'd order "french fries covered in mozzarella cheese" before they went home to religiously tune into "General Hospital" and "Oprah." Sounds like a pretty ideal routine if you ask us.
Before working in TV, she danced
Even though Kelly Ripa's first role on TV came in 1990 with a leading role in "All My Children," that wasn't her first experience in front of the camera. In fact, as a young teen, Ripa was cast in the Philadelphia teen variety show "Dancin' on Air" in 1986 when she was just 16. On the show, Ripa wore a cheerleader's outfit and did a slow dance with a teen called Mike. She later revealed that she was also a cheerleader at her own high school. A year later she also appeared on "Dance Party USA," the national version of the show.
On both shows, Ripa spoke up for gender equality — even as a teen, she was clearly passionate about women's rights. "If a guy wants to pay, he can pay, but they should alternate," she said when asked about dating etiquette in 1986 (via SJ Magazine). And in 1987, she responded to a letter that claimed women can't handle rejection (via TikTok). "This guy made me mad," she said. "Anything guys can do, girls can do better."
Her mother worried about her interest in acting
A New Jersey native, Kelly Ripa lived in the Garden State until her late teens before she headed to New York City. Whether she was in the Big Apple or her home state, Ripa maintained a strong relationship with her mother.
"Growing up, I knew that I could count on your help for any obstacle that I faced," she shared in her book "I Love You, Mom!" (via Good Housekeeping). "I could depend on you to drop off my homework at school when I left it at home, drive me around to all of my activities, or even tell me my hair looked great when it was sprayed and teased to at least five feet in the air!"
Although Ripa's mom had reservations about her daughter's acting goals, she was there for her. "She worried that I'd either get my heart broken or live under a bridge," Ripa told Elle. Clearly, things worked out.
Her first acting role was a big one
After Kelly Ripa moved to New York for her career, she became a demo girl for Nerf footballs at a toy store. But it didn't take long for the stars to align. In 1990, Ripa earned the role of Hayley in the soap opera "All My Children." Just 20 years old at the time, Ripa later reflected on her success and how it came about. "There was never any clear-cut path," she said in Redbook in 2007. "And anytime I tried to have a clear-cut path, that's usually when I would be disappointed. In the entertainment industry, you can only work so hard to achieve a goal. It's really 90 percent luck, 5 percent opportunity, and 5 percent skill."
Her role on the soap lasted for more than a decade, and Ripa knew when she was ready for her next steps. She continued on to say: "Eventually I saw that I had to change my own destiny. I had to light my own fire. When the opportunity came to host 'Live,' 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 after I took the talk show, I was offered the sitcom and lots of other acting jobs. Sometimes opportunity begets opportunity and work begets work, and you just have to take a leap."
A fateful encounter on a soap opera led to her future husband
"All My Children" changed Kelly Ripa's life in more ways than one. Not only did it give her the breakout role that would set her career in motion, but it was where she met her husband.
Initially, Consuelos didn't think Ripa wasn't his type. Ripa, on the other hand, felt an undeniable connection. "When I met Mark, I was just sort of thunderstruck," she said in Redbook. "I had a dream about him that night. The next day I went up to him and, although I didn't even know his name, I said, 'I had a dream about you last night. We were married and had a little girl and were on a plane to Rome.' And he was like, 'Oh, really?' and walked away and probably thought about filing a restraining order."
But clearly, 24-year-old Ripa and her dream didn't scare Consuelos away. Before he knew it, Consuelos was confessing his love to Ripa. The couple eloped in Las Vegas in 1996, after dating for just a year, and are still happily married.
She embarked on her next big gig as a talk show host
Kelly Ripa's biggest role came in 2001 when the 31-year-old auditioned to be one of the new hosts on "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee." Her audition did not disappoint. During the episode, a guest psychic predicted Ripa's future pregnancy. Little did the world know, Ripa was pregnant at the time with her second child. As she said on the show, "I haven't told my boss yet!" Reflecting on this memorable segment, executive producer Michael Gelman told The Washington Post, "It was just such a real moment that it showed Kelly in a light for really who she was. She had that much honesty she couldn't not react."
Ripa was up against some serious competition, including fellow soap actor and future "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Lisa Rinna. However, the Jersey girl ultimately won the gig, and the rest is history.
As her star continued to rise, she continued to prioritize her family
In 1997, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos became parents for the first time when their son Michael Consuelos was born. Their daughter, Lola Consuelos, arrived in 2001. And In 2003, their youngest, Joaquin Consuelos, arrived.
Finding a work-life balance became all the more important to Ripa once she became a mom. When she left "All My Children" in 2002, she had even more time to be with her loved ones. As she told Good Housekeeping in 2007, "I feel great not having to go [to set] after I work in the morning. This is all new to me, having free time, having time to have lunch. For the first time in 13 years, I can have lunch with my husband at a restaurant. I had no idea that there was this whole world of people out there eating in restaurants in the middle of the day."
And quality time isn't all that's important for the family; Ripa wants her children's education to be a focus as well. As she said in Good Housekeeping, she never went to college but she wanted more for her kids. "Not going to college, it sort of gives you a chip on your shoulder. Would I change anything in my life? No. But I have hopes that my kids will go to college someday, certainly," she said.
She was a lead on Hope & Faith
In 2003, talk show darling Kelly Ripa joined ABC's sitcom "Hope & Faith." Ripa played an ex-soap star named Faith who moves in with her sister — which naturally, leads to all kinds of chaos. The show ran for three seasons and a total of 74 episodes. At the time, Ripa knew that getting the role was a life-changing moment. "I'm nervous in a way that I feel is positive," she said to ABC. "I was nervous like this for 'All My Children.' I was nervous like this when I was offered the job of Regis' sidekick ... I was nervous like that when I got married. It's a positive nervousness."
On a 2020 episode of "Live with Kelly and Ryan," Ripa Ripa reunited with two co-stars from the show, Faith Ford and Ted McGinley. Reflecting on her three years on the show, she had nothing but good memories. "We laughed every day," Ripa said. "It was one of those things, it's like here, but it's a way longer day, way more intimate, because it was just us, but we laughed like that every single day."
Kelly Ripa co-founded a production company
In 2007, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos launched Milojo, a production company called Milojo. The first project was the 2008 ESPN documentary "The Streak." Since then, the couple has produced projects like Lifetime's "Let's Get Physical," ABC's "Generation Gap," CMT's "Cheer!" and numerous other dramas, documentaries, and reality series like the Logo show "Fire Island."
In 2020, a tipster dished to Us Weekly that the morning chat show star wouldn't be hanging up her producer hat anytime soon. "Kelly's excited about the many projects she has in the pipeline, especially the development of 'Mexican Gothic,'" the source said. "Production has always been a big passion of hers."
In February 2023, Ripa announced that her next Milojo project would be a new SiriusXM podcast called "Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa." It seems that Ripa has managed to make yet another dream come true with her very own successful production company.
A stress fracture forced her to hit pause
If there's one thing "Live" fans know, it is that Kelly Ripa takes exercise seriously. Whether she's sweating it out in the gym or carving out a few minutes to do some yoga, the TV star makes a point of keeping active on a regular basis.
In 2010, Ripa showed up to "Live with Regis and Kelly" on crutches. She'd suffered a stress fracture from running, and per the doctor's orders, she couldn't work out for a few weeks. When Ripa shared this news on the show, Regis Philbin quipped, "Oh, that's going to kill you, you've got to be exercising." Philbin was being hyperbolic, of course, but that's not to say Ripa took this update well. "Right away, I was like what? There must be a mistake!" she said.
This wouldn't be the last time Ripa endured an exercise-related injury. Five years later, she arrived to "Live with Kelly and Michael" in a boot after she broke her foot in dance class.
She's a big fan of SoulCycle
Kelly Ripa has long been a well-known fan of SoulCycle. As she told Vanity Fair in 2012, "I love it." Years later, she recalled the SoulCycle class that got her hooked in an interview with Style of Sport. "I had taken spin classes before, never really liked them, never really thought anything about them. They seemed kind of disorganized and this was organized. I was trying to keep up but I really didn't know what I was doing. My legs were flying all over the place," she shared. "[The SoulCycle instructor] really paid attention to my first ride, and I thought, 'This is for me.'"
When it comes to SoulCycle, she enjoys the workout, the camaraderie, and the star sightings — and no, we don't mean when she sees her reflection in the mirror. On a July 2023 episode of "Live with Kelly and Mark," Ripa talked about the time she spotted David Beckham in a class. "I'm sure I had some sort of a shutdown, like, a renal failure from holding the moisture inside my body because I did not want David Beckham to see me sweat," she quipped.
She considers herself 'dorky'
By 2013, Kelly Ripa had a dozen years of morning TV under her belt and was one of the most recognizable people on the planet. She'd long established herself as a style icon and fitness trendsetter. She'd been married to an objectively handsome star for 17 years. And yet, she still felt like a big ol' dork. As Ripa told Elle that year, "No matter how much I try to cool myself up, I'm really dorky. I think that's why people get me."
On the flip side, Ripa is also the first to tell you how cool she wants to be. "No matter how much I try to cool myself up, it's never going to happen for me. But, like, am I dying to be cool? Yes, I'm dying to be," she shared. Hey, we'd say her cameo on a 2015 episode of "Broad City" definitely earned her some cool points.
She felt 'blindsided' by Michael Strahan's Live departure
After Regis Philbin stepped away from the series, Kelly Ripa was joined by Michael Strahan on "Live." Their time together began in 2012, but it came to abrupt end in 2016 when ABC revealed he'd be heading to "Good Morning America," a fellow ABC program. After the news broke, Ripa did not show up to "Live with Kelly and Michael." Instead, Ana Gasteyer took over for her. Ripa's rep explained at the time that Ripa had felt "blindsided" by the announcement.
Though she was not there the day he officially announced his departure, Strahan did give Ripa a shoutout on the show. "I didn't want to say it earlier, but I really want to thank, of course, Kelly Ripa, because Kelly welcomed me here and I've learned so much from her," he told the audience (via People). "She's just been an amazing influence on me, and this has truly changed my life to be here with her."
In 2020, Ripa opened up about how she had felt at the time when Strahan hadn't warned her of his plans to leave. "I didn't kick up a fuss; it wasn't a big thing; I was just like, I'm not doing this. If I'm not worthy of a discussion, if I'm not worthy of you running this conversation by me — it was outrageous," she told Variety.
She grappled with the aftermath of Michael Strahan's exit
Following Michael Strahan's surprising departure from "Live" to Good Morning America, Kelly Ripa asserted the importance of respect in the workplace. "I think that all people are deserving of fair treatment in the workplace," she told People in 2016. "I think that requires a certain amount of empathy on a level. When you're dealing with big business, it's easy to forget that you're dealing with people and that people have feelings. It's easy to just look at it like a business unit." As far as she was concerned, she was not shown much respect with regards to the way his exit was handled.
Ripa noted that while she was disappointed by the way things shook out, she was happy for Strahan. "We're excited for Michael. He wanted that job, and it's great for him. I think it is a perfect match," she said. The TV veteran also acknowledged that she was nervous about finding a replacement. "It doesn't fall out of the sky," she stated.
Strangers began to feel like they know Kelly Ripa
When Seth Meyers' talk show launched in February 2014, Kelly Ripa was one of the "Saturday Night Live" alum's first guests. After praising his natural ability for interviewing people, Ripa offered Meyers a bit of a warning about one of the peculiar side effects that can come with the gig. As she shared on the February 27, 2014, episode of "Late Night with Seth Meyers," total strangers apparently can't help but talk to her like they're guests sharing a little anecdote on her talk show.
"Now that you are a talk show host, people will tell you everything about themselves always, anywhere you go," Ripa said. "I mean, I will be in spin class setting up a spin bike, and somebody will be like, 'So my brother just got arrested for drunk driving,' and I'm like, 'Why are you telling me this?'"
Ryan Seacrest became her 'work husband'
Ryan Seacrest joined Kelly Ripa as a co-host of "Live" in 2017 — but their friendship goes way back. In fact, their chemistry on the show was so great, Ripa herself has even called Seacrest as her "work husband." The feeling was mutual: Seacrest referred to Ripa as his "work wife" on Instagram.
"I like to work with my friends. Ryan and I work really well together because we have had a 20-plus-year friendship," Ripa told The Wall Street Journal in 2022. "We trust one another and admire each other. We involve each other in our deep workplace discussions, which was such a new thing for me."
In 2020, the pair were also in talks to film a pilot for ABC based on their close working relationship. The name of the show? "Work Wife." Unfortunately, in 2021, ABC announced that the show wouldn't be continuing. Nevertheless, it's pretty clear that this pair got along incredibly well — and were basically an old married couple without the romance.
She became an empty nester
In 2022, Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa their youngest kid, Joaquin Consuelos, move out of the family home to study at university at the age of 19. The pair opened up to People about what it felt like to be on their own again. "It's scary, thrilling, liberating, shocking... and quiet," Ripa told the publication. "I didn't know how to make dinner proportionally. Now, it's 10 p.m. and we'll eat."
She went on to get candid about the anxiety that comes with being an "empty nester." "I was like, 'We're going to be that couple: Our third child goes to college and we get divorced because this is it," she said. Luckily, the pair have only gotten closer since their kids flew the coop. When she and Consuelos went to the beach for the first time without their children, she realized that they were entering an exciting new period in their relationship. "I think for us, it was 'Oh, this next phase of our lives, this is kind of great,'" she said.
Kelly Ripa bid farewell to another co-host
In February 2023, Ryan Seacrest announced he'd be leaving "Live with Kelly and Ryan" to focus on other projects. When it was time to tape their final episode together in April 2023, both he and Kelly Ripa were visibly emotional. "This has without question been the fastest six years of my life," Ripa said. "Although you and I have been friends for decades and decades, I feel like I've gained, through this process, a younger brother slash oldest son."
Behind the scenes, Seacrest had been forthcoming with Ripa about his decision to move on, but this change was still hard — especially given the drama she went through with previous hosts. "Ryan and Mark were like, 'What are you nervous about? It's going to be fine,'" Ripa told Variety. "And I said to them, 'You have to forgive me. I have a little PTSD.'"
She officially started working with her husband on Live
Soon after Ryan Seacrest announced that he would be departing "Live," Kelly Ripa shared that a very special co-host would be taking his place: her husband, Mark Consuelos. "To have Mark join me at that desk every day, it's a dream come true. We've been so uniquely blessed ... It's going to be off the rails!" Ripa said to People of Consuelos becoming her co-worker. The two had hosted the show together at times previously as a guest, but on April 17, 2023, Consuelos officially became his wife's morning talk show partner, changing the name of the show to "Live with Kelly and Mark."
For some couples, working with each other would be a nightmare, but Ripa and Consuelos welcomed the opportunity. "I prefer the togetherness. I really enjoy being around him — he's great company, so funny, so smart, insightful, pragmatic and super level-headed. He doesn't get rattled, and that's very reassuring and comforting to be around," Ripa said. And although their mornings are spent together, Ripa and Consuelos each have projects that the other isn't part of. Consuelos, for example, has continued acting, finding a role in the 2024 HBO series "The Girls on the Bus."
Ripa's former co-host Ryan Seacrest has nothing but praise for Consuelos. When the "American Idol" host returned to "Live" shortly after he parted ways with the series, he told Ripa and Consuelos that he couldn't get enough of watching them together.
Kelly Ripa launched her podcast
One of Kelly Ripa's side projects that doesn't include Mark Consuelos is her podcast, "Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa." The daytime talk show host announced her podcast in February 2023, and she released her first episode the following month. "After 23 years of interviewing celebrities, authors, musicians and experts on live TV, the big takeaway is that the most compelling and unfiltered conversations happen off camera. I have dreamed of a platform where I can have these honest talks without all the fuss and filter of a camera," Ripa said in her announcement, as reported by Deadline.
Although the podcast typically doesn't include Consuelos, Ripa's husband was her very first guest. Since then, Ripa has recruited major celebrities to chat, such as Carol Burnett, Salma Hayek, Ryan Seacrest, Matthew McConaughey, and more. The series has gotten great reviews, with fans praising it for being inspirational and real. As one listener wrote in an Apple Podcast comment, "Kelly and team are fantastic. Funny, honest, great guests and she's a fabulous interviewer. I feel like I'm listening to a group of friends."
She opened up about the sexism she's faced in her career
Sexism has affected many women in their careers, and in 2023, Kelly Ripa opened up about her own experiences with gender inequality. She also touched on how she's been empowered by other women who've faced it, too. "It was definitely a place where I was expected to be grateful and to appreciate my job without creating a fuss and without any self-advocacy," Ripa said to Variety of the beginning of her time at "Live."
Ripa continued by noting that the most influential woman in her life is her mother, but she's been particularly inspired in her career by Billie Jean King. Although King is a former tennis player and not a television host like Ripa, a certain piece of wisdom proved very useful to the soap opera alum. "The best advice that was given to me was watching Billie Jean King tell women to follow the money," Ripa said. "I was watching MSNBC, and Billie Jean King was giving this interview about how men are revered for earning money and they're taught to go after money, and women are taught to, you never discuss money and you be happy with what you're given." Ripa added that she now reminds women she works with to know their value and advocate to be paid accordingly.
She celebrated her 28th wedding anniversary on Live
Being married in Hollywood for 28 years is like being married anywhere else for 100. To mark the milestone, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos celebrated 28 years of marriage on — where else? — "Live with Kelly and Mark." The duo began their May 1, 2024, show by dancing to "As" by Stevie Wonder before really digging into just how long they've been husband and wife. "My benchmark for a long time is going through first grade to being a senior in high school. 12 years is a long time. Like, when you were a kid, that's a whole lifetime. That's like doing that twice plus a PhD. Plus 4 years in college and master's program!" Consuelos said, as reported by People.
Ripa didn't limit the public celebration of her 28th wedding anniversary to her talk show. The host also took to Instagram to show her husband some love. "Squeezing 28 years into 10 pics is not possible, but you get the idea. Happy anniversary to the love of my life [Mark Consuelos.] So grateful to you for all the dreams come true," Ripa captioned a carousel of photos.