Kathie Lee Gifford to Join TODAY Show April 7

Kathie Lee Gifford will join the NBC News TODAY show as co-host of the fourth-hour segment, executive producer Jim Bell announced today. She will make her debut at 10 a.m. on April 7, 2008.

Kathie Lee is one of the few celebrities easily recognized by her first name. Her co-hosting stint on "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee" brought us her warm personality and sense of humor which made her a morning TV icon of this generation. The teasing, brother-and-sister type banter between Kathie Lee and Regis earned them both a huge number of devoted fans.

Kathie Lee Gifford will be co-hosting the fourth hour of the TODAY show with Hoda Kotb. The two women hit it off over a four-hour lunch following a hair and makeup session for a photo shoot, when Hoda approached Kathie Lee about doing a guest appearance on a segment of the TODAY show. The two women found they share a sense of humor, and laugh at the same things. Always a good foundation for a friendship, these two women should make an interesting and entertaining pair during the fourth hour of the TODAY show.

The fourth hour segment of the TODAY show contains timely, topical news items of the day. With Kathie Lee and Hoda Kobt putting their personal spin on the issues, this segment will be popular among regular TODAY show viewers, and Kathie Lee will surely draw in viewers who would not otherwise watch the show. The powers that be at NBC have made a wise decision in adding Kathie Lee to the TODAY show lineup.

In addition to her popularity on "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee," (a fifteen year stint that earned her 11 Emmy nominations) Kathy Lee Gifford has made a name for herself as a producer, singer, songwriter, playwright and actress. She has appeared in Broadway musicals, started her own record label, and appeared in numerous television programs, movies and commercials.

Kathy Lee was a "Good Morning America" correspondent for three years before joining Regis Philbin on "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee." She was also the first female guest host on "Late Night With David Letterman."

Kathie Lee devotes much of her time to children's charities, lending her support to humanitarian organizations that help neglected, abused, poverty-stricken and sick children. She has lent her own children's names to Cassidy's Place and Cody House, two children's charities in New York, and is a spokesperson for Childhelp.

This bright, vivacious, funny woman and her co-host Hoda Kobt will entertain us on the fourth hour segment of the TODAY show beginning April 7.