Biography of Kelly RipaKelly Maria Ripa (born October 2, 1970, in Berlin, New Jersey) an American Daytime Emmy Award-winning actress, television personality and talk show host. Since February 2001, she has served as the co-host of Live with Regis and Kelly, alongside Regis Philbin, 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, playing the role of Hayley Vaughn Santos, and for playing Faith Fairfield, one of the main characters in Hope & Faith, both television series on ABC.
Kelly Ripa was born to a 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 (in the hero sense, not the drug) Hayley Vaughan on the soap opera All My Children. Starting on the show in 1990, the character of Hayley quickly drew a large following. While she was selected to work alongside Regis Philbin for the long-running talk show, Live, Ripa was on double duty, but the following year in 2002, Ripa's character of Hayley was killed, hence, she left All My Children to spend more time co-hosting Live with Regis and Kelly, in New York.
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 May 1, 1996. She did not invite her parents to the wedding. 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 back on double duty (after a one year hiatus) when she co-starred (with Faith Ford) on her first sitcom, Hope & Faith. She portrayed Faith Fairfield, 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.
In May 2007, Ripa stated that she most likely is done with acting for the time being. She said she is content to enjoy the light work schedule that Live with Regis and Kelly offers. She did say that she may be more inclined to return to acting once her youngest son, Joaquin, is old enough to be in school full-time.
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.
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