Kathie Lee Gifford (born August 16, 1953) is an American television hostess, singer, actor, noted for her 15-year run (1985–2000) on the talk show Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, which she co-hosted with Regis Philbin. She has received 11 Emmy nominations. Before her long stint in talk shows, Gifford's first television exposure was that of Tom Kennedy's singer/sidekick on Name That Tune, from 1974 to 1978.

On April 7, 2008, Gifford started co-hosting the fourth hour of NBC's Today Show with Hoda Kotb. They replaced Ann Curry and Natalie Morales. The show's ratings increased by 14 points within the first two months of Gifford's arrival.

Gifford, born as Kathryn Lee Epstein in Paris, France, is the daughter of Joan (née Cuttell), a singer, and Aaron Epstein, a musician and U.S. naval officer stationed in France at the time. She grew up in Bowie, Maryland, attended Bowie High School and was a singer in a folk group, Pennsylvania Next Right, which performed frequently at school assemblies. Gifford attended Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, studying drama and music.