Kelly Ripa became one of a select group of stars earlier this month to officially be named a “Disney Legend,” when she was inducted into the prestigious group at the D23 annual convention.
While Kelly, 53, has long been a staple of daytime TV, particularly for ABC, the news came as a shock to her, as she confessed to Disney CEO Bob Iger on the latest episode of her podcast Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa.
The LIVE with Kelly and Mark co-anchor told Bob that she felt like she was thrown “for a curveball” when she received the call from Debra O’Connell, President of ABC Networks and an executive at The Walt Disney Company.
She shared: “Again, [it was] one of the moments where I thought Debra O’Connell was playing an April Fools prank on me,” and admitted that she’d even asked: “Why me?”
“You needed a real person in there to sort of stabilize. There’s a lot of greatness, but then they’re like, ‘Okay. How do we honor regular people? Kelly?'”
Bob then explained to Kelly how monumental she was to the company and to its success, having been an ABC star for over three decades, first beginning with her stint as a TV starlet.
© InstagramKelly began working with the network on a regular basis when she joined the cast of All My Children as Hayley Vaughan, a role she inhabited from 1990 until 2002. And by 2001, she began her second wind as the host of Live with Regis and Kelly.
LIVE has undergone several iterations since her arrival as co-host, partnering Kelly up with Michael Strahan and Ryan Seacrest before she was partenered up with her husband Mark Consuelos in 2023.
© InstagramBob assured her that due to her tenure as host of LIVE alone, a job she has held for nearly 25 years, she is a worthy honoree. “And think of the number just the sheer amount of time you’ve been on the air. Probably when you add that up, it’s right up there.”
He continued: “Ultimately, I approve this list. And, actually, I thought, well, why didn’t we think of that earlier? You actually have been worthy for a while. And I think it speaks volumes about not only you, but the show too that you’ve been on now for so long and that we value.”
© Getty ImagesHer biography alongside her induction announcement read: “Kelly Ripa is one of the most powerful voices in media, with a diverse body of work both on and off camera. With a career at ABC spanning over 30 years, Kelly has welcomed viewers with her sharp wit every morning as co-host and executive producer of the nationally syndicated show LIVE.”
Kelly was presented with the honor, alongside other legends like Harrison Ford, Angela Bassett, Miley Cyrus, and Jamie Lee Curtis, by none other than Ryan, her close friend and former on-screen partner in crime.
© ABC“Thank you so much, and Ryan, thank you from the bottom of my heart,” she gushed during her speech, jokingly adding: “I’m just so glad that you finally found something else to host. This feels surreal for me, and I wanna thank Bob Iger for this truly magical experience.”
