American broadcaster
Leeza Gibbons
|
---|
|
Born
| Leeza Kim Gibbons
(
1957-03-26
)
March 26, 1957
(age 67)
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Occupation
| Broadcaster
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Years active
| 1976?present
|
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Television
| Leeza
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Spouses
|
John Hicks
(
m.
1980;
div.
1982)
(
m.
1989;
div.
1991)
(
m.
1991;
div.
2005)
Steven Fenton
(
m.
2011)
|
---|
Children
| 3
|
---|
Website
| leezagibbons
.com
|
---|
Leeza Kim Gibbons
(born March 26, 1957) is an American
talk show
host. She is best known as a correspondent and co-host for
Entertainment Tonight
(1984?2000) as well as for having her own syndicated daytime talk show,
Leeza
(1993?2000). In 2013, her book
Take 2
became a
New York Times
bestseller and she won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Host in a Lifestyle or Travel program for the PBS show,
My Generation
. On February 16, 2015, Gibbons was named the winner of
Celebrity Apprentice
; while on the show she raised $714,000 for her charity Leeza's Care Connection.
[1]
Biography
[
edit
]
Early life
[
edit
]
Leeza Gibbons was born in
Hartsville, South Carolina
, the daughter of Jean and Dr. Carlos Gibbons. Gibbons has two siblings ? a brother, Carlos Jr., and a sister, Cammy. Leeza Gibbons grew up in
Columbia, South Carolina
in a housing subdivision called Whitehall, and graduated from
Irmo High School
. After completing high school, Gibbons graduated summa cum laude from the
University of South Carolina
's school of journalism and mass communication. She was a member of the
Delta Delta Delta
sorority at the university.
Career
[
edit
]
Leeza Gibbons's television career started at
WSPA-TV
in
Spartanburg, South Carolina
.
[
when?
]
Next she was the co host of
PM Magazine
for
KFDM-TV
in
Beaumont, Texas
[
when?
]
, and then moved to sister station
WFAA-TV
in
Dallas
.
[
citation needed
]
The new position represented a major career step and came with media attention.
In 1983 Gibbons joined
WCBS-TV
in
New York City
, where she became a host on
Two on the Town,
a program modeled after
PM Magazine
. Her co-host was
Robb Weller
. The following year both of them joined
Entertainment Tonight
, with Gibbons as a reporter and co-anchor of the program's weekend edition.
In the early to mid-1990s, Gibbons partnered with
Guthy-Renker
becoming a trailblazer in the world of direct response. She was the first television star on a daily show to be featured in an
infomercial
as she starred in back-to-back blockbusters (
Personal Power 2
and
Get the Edge
) with a young
Tony Robbins
.
Leeza
was her own
NBC
/syndicated talk show; it ran from June 1993 to September 2000. The show originated as
John & Leeza from Hollywood
, with former
Entertainment Tonight
co-host
John Tesh
. Tesh was dropped from the show after seven months, and Gibbons was the host for the remainder of the series.
From 2001 to 2003, Gibbons was the host and managing editor of the television show
Extra
. Beginning in 2011, she was the host of the PBS talk show
My Generation
(2011?2014) and co-host and executive producer of the syndicated
news magazine
show
America Now
(2011?2015).
In the 1990s, Gibbons hosted the radio show
Blockbuster Top 25 Countdown with Leeza Gibbons.
She counted down the hits in
Adult Contemporary
and
Hot Adult Contemporary
formats, and presented entertainment news and pre-recorded interviews. When
Blockbuster Video
stopped sponsoring the program in 1999, the show's name was changed to
Leeza Gibbons' Top 25 Countdown
. In January 2001, the countdown was dropped and the show was renamed
Leeza Gibbons' Hollywood Confidential;
the show continued until 2013.
In 1998, Gibbons received the
Congressional Horizon Award
(1998) for her work on children's issues
[
clarification needed
]
.
[2]
In early 2000s, Gibbons launched her mineral makeup line,
Sheer Cover Studio
, with Guthy-Renker.
[3]
Sheer Cover continues to be sold around the world.
In 2005, Gibbons received the Public Leadership in Neurology Award from the
American Academy of Neurology
for raising awareness about
Alzheimer's disease
.
[4]
On November 14, 2007, California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
announced the appointment of Gibbons to the board that oversees California's stem cell research agency,
[5]
filling a slot designated for a patient advocate for Alzheimer's. Her nonprofit group, Leeza's Place, is aimed at caregivers for persons with memory disorders.
[6]
Her efforts to raise attention for memory disorders grew out of her own family's experience with her mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and died in May 2008.
[3]
Gibbons replaced
Meredith Vieira
for a week of
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
shows on June 23?27, 2008.
In May 2009 Gibbons' new book,
Take Your Oxygen First: Protecting Your Health and Happiness While Caring for a Loved One with Memory Loss
, tells the story of Leeza's family's personal struggle with
Alzheimer's disease
after her mother's diagnosis.
[7]
In 2013, Gibbons won a
Daytime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Lifestyle/Travel Host for the
PBS
series
My Generation
.
[8]
In 2015, she won the NBC reality game-show series
Celebrity Apprentice
.
[9]
She began co-hosting the
Rose Parade
on January 2, 2017.
[
citation needed
]
In 2015, Gibbons received the Icon award from the
Electronic Retailing Association
, where it was announced that Gibbons had crossed the $1 billion mark in sales. Her partnership with Guthy-Renker is the longest studio/talent relationship in infomercial history.
[
citation needed
]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Gibbons has been married four times; she was married to John Hicks from 1980 to 1982.
[
citation needed
]
From 1989 to 1991, she was married to British actor
Christopher Quinten
, whom she met when they both participated in the
1988 New Zealand Telethon
.
[10]
She and Quinten have a daughter, Jordan Alexandra (Lexi) Gibbons. Leeza Gibbons was married to actor
Stephen Meadows
from 1991 to 2005, and they have two sons, Troy and Nathan Daniel.
[11]
In 2011, she married
New York Times
best selling author, Steven Fenton, in
Beverly Hills
.
[12]
Fenton is the son of the former mayor of Beverly Hills, Frank M. Fenton.
Gibbons is a member of
Hollywood United Methodist Church
, and all of her children were baptized there.
[13]
Her grandmother and mother have been diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease
.
[4]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Leeza's Care Connection
- ^
"Horizon & Leadership Awards"
.
Congressional Award
. August 15, 2014
. Retrieved
November 20,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"Everything Leeza"
. Leezagibbons.com
. Retrieved
October 19,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
"Public Leadership in Neurology Award Honors Leeza Gibbons for Alzheimer's Awareness Efforts"
.
www.aan.com
. Retrieved
November 20,
2020
.
- ^
"California Stem Cell Report: Celebrity Leeza Gibbons Named as CIRM Director"
. Californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com. November 15, 2007
. Retrieved
October 19,
2010
.
- ^
"Welcome to Leeza's Place ? A Place for Caregivers, Caregiver Support Groups, Connecting Caregivers, Caregiver Resources, Caregiver Help, Family Caregiving, Senior Caregiving, Caregiving Support"
. Leezasplace.org
. Retrieved
October 19,
2010
.
- ^
Take Your Oxygen First (November 8, 2004).
"> Home"
. Take Your Oxygen First. Archived from
the original
on May 14, 2009
. Retrieved
October 19,
2010
.
- ^
"Variety"
. June 15, 2013
. Retrieved
February 17,
2015
.
- ^
Baretto, Megan (February 17, 2015).
"
'Celebrity Apprentice' crowns a winner"
.
AOL
. Retrieved
February 17,
2015
.
- ^
"6.30PM News - Leeza Gibbons"
. NZ On Screen.
- ^
"Leeza Gibbons and Her Husband Split Up"
.
People Magazine
. Retrieved
April 18,
2016
.
- ^
Jordan, Julie. "
Leeza Gibbons Gets Married
".
People
. April 22, 2011.
- ^
Wayne, Gary.
"Hollywood United Methodist Church"
.
www.seeing-stars.com
. Retrieved
February 12,
2017
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Seasons
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Winners
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Related programs
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International
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National
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Artists
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