Kelly Ripa has been living large on Live for two decades. But while she might easily share countless, hilarious details about her personal life for millions of fans, there's a lot more to this star than what makes the air. From soap opera maven to daytime talk show icon, here's the gorgeous transformation of Kelly Ripa.



By all accounts, Kelly Ripa was born to perform. Shortly after she made her world debut in 1970 she was already singing, dancing and entertaining her parents. She told South Jersey Mag,

"There was always a lot of love and laughter in the house, and tons of fun."

Ripa was enrolled in dance lessons, the high school cheer squad, and local theater. And it quickly became obvious that she enjoyed anything that had to do with entertainment. While she grew up in a working-class New Jersey family, Ripa held onto some pretty extraordinary dreams. She wanted to act in the Big Apple, later sharing with ELLE,

"[My mother] worried that I'd either get my heart broken or live under a bridge."

It all started with Ripa landing a part in her middle school play. It was then that she knew she wanted to take her talents all the way. Once she moved to New York at just 19 years old, her big break followed almost immediately after.

Watch the video for more about The Gorgeous Transformation Of Kelly Ripa!

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Passion for the biz | 0:00

Shake it | 1:05

Landing on the soaps | 1:45

Love at first sight | 2:36

Growing their family | 3:45

Life-changing call | 4:53

Hope & Faith | 5:59

Having it all | 7:01

Live with Kelly and...? | 7:54

Michael Strahan's exit | 8:53

Six feet apart | 9:53