Kelly Ripa Biography
Born : October 2, 1970
Birthplace : Stratford, New Jersey
Talk-show host, soap star and comedic actress, Kelly Ripa was born in New Jersey to Joe a bus driver and labor union president and Esther, a homemaker. Her family eventually moved to Berlin, New Jersey where Kelly grew up with sister Linda (a children's author by now), and they began taking piano and ballet lessons. She attended school at Eastern Regional High School and was noticed while acting in her senior high school play, The Ugly Duckling. It was then that Kelly first considered entertaining as a career.
After graduating from high school, Kelly attended community college while landing parts in local theater productions such as: The Wizard and Oz, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and H.M.S. Pinafore. She next joined the cast of ABC television network daytime drama All My Children starring as Hayley Vaughan. In the year 2000 her character married Mateo Santos who is portrayed by Ripa's real-life husband, Mark Consuelos. They have three children together: Lola Grace, Joaquin Antonio and Michael Joseph.
Kelly received several Soap Opera Awards including Soap Opera Award for Hottest Romance and Outstanding Younger Lead Actress, and a Daytime Emmy Award Nomination in 1993 followed by a second one in 1999.
Kelly's performance as psychologically tortured Hayley Vaughan on ABC spanned twelve years, from 1990 through 2002. In 1999, she was named Best Actress by the NYC Independent Film Festival for her performance in the feature film The Stand In.
Ripa was next selected to co-host the popular syndicated tv show Live with Regis and Kelly alongside Regis Philbin. Ripa pulled double duty with All My Chidren and Live! until 2002 when she left AMC. The follow-up year, Kelly was back on double duty starring as Faith Fairfield on the 2003 sitcom "Hope & Faith. Kelly Ripa has also hosted the 2007 TV Land Awards.
