Kathie Lee Gifford, known for her time on “Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee,” has led a tumultuous life, despite her fame. Her first marriage ended in disappointment and divorce, leading to new career opportunities and a more fulfilling relationship.

Like many in Hollywood, Gifford faced sexual harassment but chose not to divulge specific details. In 1996, her clothing line faced a sweatshop scandal, which she used as a platform to advocate for industry reform.

A heartbreaking miscarriage in 1992 was followed by the birth of her second child. Her connection to the Kennedy family brought its own share of sorrow.

Gifford endured cruel jokes from figures like Howard Stern and faced marital turmoil when her second husband, Frank Gifford, cheated. She left “Live” partly due to her father’s illness. Frank’s 2015 passing left her lonely, and her mother’s 2017 death was another painful loss.

All About Kathie Lee Gifford’s Children and Grandchildren

Kathie Lee Gifford welcomed two kids, Cody and Cassidy, with her late husband, Frank Gifford. She is now a grandmother to three boys

Kathie Lee Gifford found success as a TV personality, actress, author, singer and songwriter, but nothing has given her a “sense of purpose” quite like being a mother to her kids, Cody Gifford and Cassidy Gifford, and a grandmother to Frank Michael Gifford, Finn Thomas Wierda and Ford Matthew Gifford.

Kathie Lee became a mom for the first time when she welcomed Cody in March 1990 with her late husband, Frank Gifford. Daughter Cassidy followed soon after in August 1993.

“You can’t even imagine how your life is going to change until it is actually changing right before your eyes,” she told Today in 2016. “If you’re not completely ready to have your entire life totally upended, don’t have a child.”

Kathie Lee became known for her candor as a parent in the public eye. “I would go, ‘I have mastitis and my nipples are killing me,” she told Tamron Hall in 2022 about her time hosting Live With Regis and Kathie Lee. “Nobody ever talked about motherhood like that. It was the first time … I got a little graphic about it.”

Now that her kids have grown up, she says her relationship with them has changed in amazing ways. “They’re both great human beings who realized that their mama needs them now more than they need me,” she told PEOPLE in 2017. “When your children ultimately become your dear friends, you know you’ve made a switch in the relationship.”

Though her husband Frank died in 2015, she says her late partner has still been alongside her for the big moments — like when both of her kids got married in 2020.  “At both weddings, we felt Frank just smiling,” she told PEOPLE. “He had an aerial view, I think.”

At the time, she also hinted at hoping for grandchildren, saying, “One day, the Lord might bless us with little tiny feet running around … that’s in God’s hands.”

She got her wish with the births of her grandsons — Frank in 2022 and Finn and Ford in 2023. According to Kathie Lee, it’s “heaven” having the little ones around, and her children are proud of the grandmother she’s become.

“Laughing through life with you is one of my greatest blessings. Beyond thankful for the woman, believer and mother you are,” Cassidy wrote for her mom’s 70th birthday in 2023. “And the bubbe you are to little Finn!”

Here’s everything to know about Kathie Lee’s children, Cody and Cassidy, and grandchildren Frank, Finn and Ford.

Kathie Lee Gifford’s Children

Cody Newton Gifford, 33

Kathie Lee and Frank welcomed their first child together, son Cody Newton Gifford, on March 22, 1990. He grew up in Connecticut and attended college at the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford before following in his mother’s footsteps and working in the entertainment industry as a producer, screenwriter and the founder of Gifford Media Group.

The older Cody gets, the more he grows to resemble his late father, whom he lost when he was 25 years old. “So many people were saying, ‘Gosh, Cody looks just like Frank now,’ ” Kathie Lee said on the Today show in 2018. “He really does.”

In May 2019, Kathie Lee shared that her son was engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Erika Brown. “My son is engaged and I couldn’t be happier for him and [Erika],” she wrote on Instagram beside a photo of him and Erika kissing. “Frank adored Erika, he met her at my 60th birthday,” the former Today host shared with PEOPLE. “He loved her smile and loved her laugh.”

The couple tied the knot amid the COVID-19 pandemic in September 2020, with just parents and siblings in attendance. “God gave us a glorious day to celebrate this glorious couple. So grateful.🙏🏻,” Kathie Lee shared on Instagram beside a wedding photo.

The nuptials took place at the Greenwich, Connecticut, mansion where Cody grew up and where he now resides with his family. “My son and his wife live there now,” Kathie Lee told PEOPLE after moving to Tennessee herself. “And that just makes me so happy.”

In December 2021, Cody and Erika announced that they were expecting their first child together with a touching Instagram post, adding that they’d find out the baby’s sex “the old fashioned way — when our lil ‘squish’ arrives.” Kathie Lee could barely contain her excitement. “I am over a blue or pink moon!!! I don’t care which,” she wrote. “So so happy for you both, @mrsamerikagifford, and for our family.”

The TV personality has loved watching her son blossom as a father to his son, Frankie. “33 years ago, this beautiful man made his entrance into this world, and today he understands what love is,” Kathie Lee wrote in a birthday tribute on Instagram in 2023. “Frank and I have been so blessed to bring you into this world, Cody, and now we feel double blessed that you and @mrsamerikagifford have brought little Frankie into it.”

Kathie Lee will soon be a grandmother of three, as Cody and Erika are currently expecting their second child together.

Cassidy Erin Gifford, 30

Cassidy Erin Gifford was born on Aug. 2, 1993, in Greenwich, Connecticut. Cassidy followed her mom’s footsteps into acting and has appeared in TV and film projects including That’s So Raven, Suite Life on Deck, God’s Not Dead, Time Trap and The Baxters.

“My daughter is a very serious acting student,” Kathie Lee told Entertainment Weekly in 2007. “She studied at the Strasberg Institute last year here in New York.” Kathie Lee said that regardless of what her child wanted to do, she would support her. “It’s just that I have to help her make wise choices. And I’ll be on the set with her.”

In November 2019, Kathie Lee shared the news that her daughter was engaged to longtime boyfriend Ben Wierda. “So thrilled to announce that my beautiful daughter, @cassidygiff is engaged to a wonderful man, Ben @letsgetwierda,” she wrote on Instagram alongside an adorable photo of the young couple. Sharing more insight into the special moment, Cassidy revealed she was “face deep in a quesadilla” when Ben popped the question.

Kathie Lee was “grateful” that her late husband got to meet Ben before his death.  “Frank knew Ben, Cassidy’s husband, since he was 14 years old — he’s 30 now,” she shared.

In June 2020, the couple tied the knot “in an intimate setting in [Ben’s] backyard in Michigan,” the bride’s manager told PEOPLE.  “They’re planning on having a big celebration when it’s safe to do so in the future.”

That moment came in October 2021, when the couple enjoyed a beautiful traditional wedding in Nashville surrounded by reminders of Cassidy’s father, including the proposal date of Nov. 16 (her father’s jersey number), serving Frank’s favorite candy, and putting number 16 on each table.

“I couldn’t do a father-daughter dance with my dad, so my brother and I danced to ‘What a Wonderful World.’ Then halfway through, which was a surprise, Ben’s dad — my father-in-law, Craig — actually came in,” she told PEOPLE. “We had our first dance — and my mom got up and sang too, as she’s known to always do!”

Cassidy and Ben shared that they would become parents for the first time in December 2022. “Our little peanut arriving June 2023🙏 Jeremiah 1:5,” Cassidy wrote beside an Instagram photo of a tiny stocking. “A whole lot extra to be praising Jesus for this Christmas,” she added in the heartwarming announcement.

The duo welcomed their bundle of joy, Finn Wierda, on June 24, 2023.

Kathie Lee Gifford’s Grandchildren

Frank Michael Gifford, 1

Cody and his wife Erika welcomed their son, Frank Michael Gifford, on May 31, 2022. “At a whopping 8 lbs., 8 oz. three weeks early, Frank Michael Gifford, ‘Frankie’ has changed our lives forever,” Erika wrote on Instagram. “We have not stopped bursting with so much love and gratitude for God’s most precious gift.”

Kathie Lee was immediately head over heels for her first grandchild and shared her joy on Instagram. “My heart is bursting. Frank Michael Gifford is here, confirming that our God is good and merciful and faithful. And he loves us!”

Frank is named after his late grandfather, a choice that “surprised” Kathie Lee. “I was surprised Cody named him after his dad because Cody knew what it was like to grow up in the shadow of a great man,” she told Today with Hoda & Jenna. “But I guess he’s never gotten over, really, and he never will, the loss of his dad at an early age and he was his hero and he still is.”

She added that the middle name Michael “means gift of God but it’s also the name of Erika’s recently deceased, beloved uncle so both sides of the family got blessed by this.”

The former TV host also helped her daughter-in-law set up the nursery, which had once been Frank’s great-grandmother’s room. “I helped Erika set up the nursery in our house,” she told PEOPLE. “My mom’s room became the new baby room and everybody rejoiced over that, and I’m sure my mother in heaven was rejoicing all the more.”

Kathie Lee spends all the in-person time she can with her grandson, including hanging out with him on her birthday, wearing matching hats in the garden, enjoying holidays and cuddling with him every chance she gets. But even when they can’t see each other, they still use technology to connect. “I FaceTime with him every day and he’s just a wonderment,” she told PEOPLE.

“He’s extraordinary,” she added of baby Frank. “And everybody thinks their own grandchild is the best in the world, so I won’t say anything other than they’re right, their grandchild is.”

Frank is finding his personality more and more every day, with Kathie Lee telling Today that he’s a lot like his dad. “He’s Cody all over again, he really is,” she said.

He also looks like his granddad under the right circumstances. In January 2023, the parents dressed Frankie up as the original Frank with a sweater and beret. “Big Frank —swipe—> Little Frankie,” they captioned the post.

Finn Thomas Wierda

Cassidy gave birth to her son, Finn Thomas Wierda, on June 24, 2023. She announced the happy news with a precious photo of her little one’s feet on June 30 and the caption, “Our whole entire world. Finn Thomas Wierda 6.24.2023. We are so madly in love with you, buddy. Thank you, Lord for this most precious gift.”

Kathie Lee shared the first photo holding her grandson a week later. “What a joy to spend sweet time with baby FINN,” she wrote. “I am the most blessed of women. It seems! Happy Fourth of July everybody.”

Ford Matthew Gifford

Cody and Erika welcomed their second child, son Ford Matthew Gifford, on Nov. 27, 2023.

“Thanking God immensely for another perfect ‘gifft,'” Erika wrote on Instagram. “Welcome to the world, sweet sweet son.”

Kathie met her third grandchild five days after his birth.

“Welcome to the family Ford Matthew Gifford. Thank you God for this beautiful blessing. Bubbe already loves you so much Ford,” she captioned several photos of the newborn on Instagram.

Erika and Cody announced that they were expecting baby No. 2 in June 2023.

“Baby Gifford #2 coming this winter,” Erika wrote alongside a video showing family moments of the pregnancy test and in the doctor’s office. “Thank you so much for all of the love and prayers. It has meant the world. Gifford, party of 4!!!”

Even before Ford’s arrival, Frankie was showing off his skills as a big brother.

“The way Frankie comes up to my belly and says ‘hi!’ and ‘baby’ and gives my belly so many kisses all the time just absolutely melts us,” Erika shared in October 2023 alongside a photo of her growing bump. “Lately, he’s started feeding the baby (my belly) with his fork or pouring his bottle all over my belly which cracks us up … Can’t wait to see him as a big brother.”

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