Kathie Lee Gifford Receives Her Walk Of Fame Star

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Talk show host and actress Kathie Lee Gifford became the latest person to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this week. Gifford received the honor during a virtual ceremony Wednesday morning, during which she thanked her fans and reflected on her journey to this point.

"I want to thank you, all of you, for this amazing award," she said. "It means a lot to me. It really does. I'd kind of given up on ever getting this ... but here it is."

Gifford's star is five stars away from that of Regis Philbin, her "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" co-host from 1988-2000. The duo received nine daytime Emmy nominations during their accomplished run.

Rana Ghadban, President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, emceed the ceremony, while guest speakers Hoda Kotb, Dolly Parton and Craig Ferguson were also on hand to celebrate Gifford.

Kotb and Gifford previously co-hosted "Today with Kathie Lee & Hoda," which won the new inductee four Emmy awards. The show ran from 2008-2019, when Gifford departed to pursue other endeavors.

Dolly Parton, who wrote the forward to Gifford's book "It's Never Too Late," also joined to celebrate her longtime friend.

In total, Gifford has earned 11 Emmy nominations, and was inducted into the Broadcast & Cable Hall of Fame in 2015. She has also written five New York Times bestselling books, and recently directed her first short film "The God Who Sees" in 2019.

Born Kathryn Lee Epstein in Paris on Aug. 16, 1953, while her father was stationed in France with the U.S. Navy, and raised in Bowie, Maryland, Gifford's first appearances on national television was as a singer on the game show "Name That Tune" in the late 1970s.

Gifford also starred in the Broadway musical review "Putting It Together" in 1999 and 2000 and wrote the book, lyrics and additional music for the 2012 Broadway musical on the life of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, "Scandalous."

Gifford's next book, "The Jesus I Know," a compilation of conversations with a wide range of celebrities about Jesus, is set to be released Nov. 30. She is also editing three oratorios.

City News Service contributed to this report.