Leeza Gibbons
Encyclopedia
Leeza Kim Gibbons is an American
talk show
host. Gibbons is the host of her own radio show, Hollywood Confidential, part of the United Stations radio syndication company.
, the daughter of Jean and Carlos Gibbons, a former state superintendent of education and antique shop owner. Gibbons has two siblings; a brother, Carlos Jr., and a sister, Camy. The Gibbons family also adopted and raised a baby chimpanzee named Martha that was later taken to Africa and released at a wildlife preserve. Gibbons grew up in Irmo, South Carolina
, a suburb of Columbia, and graduated from Irmo High School. After completing high school, Gibbons attended the University of South Carolina
's school of journalism and mass communication, where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta
sorority.
in Beaumont, TX before moving to WFAA-TV Channel 8 in Dallas-Fort Worth during the early 1980s, hosting Entertainment Tonight
and Extra
, as well as hosting Leeza
, her own NBC
/syndicated talk show, which ran from January 1994 to September 2000. In the 1990s, she was the co-host of John and Leeza, a talk show with former co-host of Entertainment Tonight, John Tesh
. After one season, Tesh was dropped from the show, and Gibbons hosted solo for the remainder of the series. She has also guest starred on several shows, including The Geena Davis Show
, The Simple Life
, The Simpsons
, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
, Home Improvement, and Just Shoot Me. She played a television reporter in the RoboCop
films and had a small role as a reporter in Soapdish
. She also hosted a series that explores true stories of survival in Lifetime's What Should You Do?
In 1988, she was also the host of the Telethon show on New Zealand
's TVNZ network, which she hosted alongside Christopher Quinten, whom she later married (see below). In addition to her television and radio career, Gibbons has received the Congressional Horizon Award for her work on children's issues.
In the 1990s, Gibbons hosted the radio countdown show Blockbuster Top 25 Countdown with Leeza Gibbons. The show was created for Adult Contemporary and Hot Adult Contemporary formats. Gibbons counted down the hits in the respective formats and included 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. The Adult Contemporary version was cut to a top 20. In January 2001, the countdown aspect of the show was dropped and was renamed Leeza Gibbons' Hollywood Confidential, which focused more on entertainment news.
In early 2000s, Gibbons launched her mineral makeup line Sheer Cover with Guthy-Renker
. Gibbons says, "Sheer Cover is a not just a makeup product, it's a transformative experience for women who have serious skin issues like sun damage, birth marks, scars and acne or just for any woman who wants natural looking skin that glows with a healthy radiance."
On February 20, 2007, the ABC
television network
announced that Gibbons would be a participant in its Spring 2007 Dancing with the Stars
reality show. She was eliminated from the competition on April 10, 2007. She was the third celebrity eliminated.
On November 14, 2007, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
announced the appointment of Gibbons to the board that oversees California's stem cell research agency. Gibbons fills a slot designated for a patient advocate for Alzheimers as the result of her nonprofit group, Leeza's Place, which is aimed at caregivers for persons with memory disorders. Gibbons' efforts with 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.
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 and provides practical advice on how caregivers and their families can and must take care of their own physical, emotional and spiritual needs in order to give better care to their loved ones suffering with a memory loss disorder. The book was co-written by Leeza's Place Executive Director of the Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation, Dr. Jamie Huysman and Dr. Rosemary Laird of the Health First Aging Institute in Florida
.
In 2009, the Alfred Mann Foundation for Scientific Research presented Leeza with its Artistic and Philanthropic Visionary Award.
In 2011, Leeza joined Bill Rancic for Season 2 of "America Now", a Syndicated News Program from Raycom Media
.
actor
Christopher Quinten
, with whom she has daughter Jordan Alexandra (Lexi) Gibbons. Her third marriage began in 1991 to Stephen Meadows
. They have sons Troy and Nathan Daniel. Meadows filed for divorce in February 2005, after 14 years of marriage to Gibbons. Her fourth marriage was in 2011 when Gibbons married Steven Fenton in Beverly Hills.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
host. Gibbons is the host of her own radio show, Hollywood Confidential, part of the United Stations radio syndication company.
Early life
Gibbons was born in Hartsville, South CarolinaHartsville, South Carolina
Hartsville is a small city in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,764 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hartsville is located at ....
, the daughter of Jean and Carlos Gibbons, a former state superintendent of education and antique shop owner. Gibbons has two siblings; a brother, Carlos Jr., and a sister, Camy. The Gibbons family also adopted and raised a baby chimpanzee named Martha that was later taken to Africa and released at a wildlife preserve. Gibbons grew up in Irmo, South Carolina
Irmo, South Carolina
Irmo is a town in Lexington and Richland counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina and a suburb of Columbia. It is 12 miles outside of the city center of Columbia and is part of the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, a suburb of Columbia, and graduated from Irmo High School. After completing high school, Gibbons attended the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
's school of journalism and mass communication, where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Delta Delta , also known as Tri Delta, is an international sorority founded on November 27, 1888, the eve of Thanksgiving Day. With over 200,000 initiates, Tri Delta is one of the world's largest NPC sororities.-History:...
sorority.
Career
Her past television credits include co-hosting local segments of PM MagazinePM Magazine
PM/Evening Magazine was a television series with a news and entertainment format. It was syndicated to stations throughout the United States...
in Beaumont, TX before moving to WFAA-TV Channel 8 in Dallas-Fort Worth during the early 1980s, hosting Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
and Extra
Extra (TV series)
Extra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
, as well as hosting Leeza
Leeza
Leeza is a daytime television talk show hosted by Leeza Gibbons. The show ran on NBC between 1994 and 2000, and was also shown on other stations in markets where the local NBC affiliate pre-empted it in favor of other programming...
, her own NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
/syndicated talk show, which ran from January 1994 to September 2000. In the 1990s, she was the co-host of John and Leeza, a talk show with former co-host of Entertainment Tonight, John Tesh
John Tesh
John Frank Tesh is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. His 10-year-old 'Intelligence for Your Life Radio Show' reaches 14.2 Million listeners/week, and is syndicated by Teshmedia on 400 stations in US, Canada, and the UK...
. After one season, Tesh was dropped from the show, and Gibbons hosted solo for the remainder of the series. She has also guest starred on several shows, including The Geena Davis Show
The Geena Davis Show
The Geena Davis Show was an American sitcom starring Geena Davis. The show lasted one season on ABC.- Background :Terri Minsky first pitched the idea of a Sex and the City-like character becoming a suburban housewife to ABC in early 2000. Basic plot details were drawn up, and the script eventually...
, The Simple Life
The Simple Life
The Simple Life was a reality television series that was broadcast from December 2, 2003 to August 5, 2007. The first three seasons aired on Fox, and the final two on E!...
, The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...
, Home Improvement, and Just Shoot Me. She played a television reporter in the RoboCop
RoboCop
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
films and had a small role as a reporter in Soapdish
Soapdish
Soapdish is a 1991 comedy film which tells a backstage story of the cast and crew of a popular fictional television soap opera. It stars Sally Field as an aging soap star, joined by Kevin Kline, Robert Downey, Jr., Elisabeth Shue, Whoopi Goldberg, Teri Hatcher, Cathy Moriarty, Garry Marshall, Kathy...
. She also hosted a series that explores true stories of survival in Lifetime's What Should You Do?
What Should You Do?
What Should You Do? is an American reality series that aired on Lifetime from April 2003 to January 2004.-Overview:Hosted by Leeza Gibbons, the program recreates real-life stories of life-threatening or emergency situations and dilemmas, such as a car plunging off a bridge into a river or getting...
In 1988, she was also the host of the Telethon show on New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's TVNZ network, which she hosted alongside Christopher Quinten, whom she later married (see below). In addition to her television and radio career, Gibbons has received the Congressional Horizon Award for her work on children's issues.
In the 1990s, Gibbons hosted the radio countdown show Blockbuster Top 25 Countdown with Leeza Gibbons. The show was created for Adult Contemporary and Hot Adult Contemporary formats. Gibbons counted down the hits in the respective formats and included 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. The Adult Contemporary version was cut to a top 20. In January 2001, the countdown aspect of the show was dropped and was renamed Leeza Gibbons' Hollywood Confidential, which focused more on entertainment news.
In early 2000s, Gibbons launched her mineral makeup line Sheer Cover with Guthy-Renker
Guthy-Renker
Guthy-Renker LLC is a direct-response marketer known primarily for selling products in the United States via infomercials. The company also sells products direct to consumer through a variety of media channels via offices in numerous countries...
. Gibbons says, "Sheer Cover is a not just a makeup product, it's a transformative experience for women who have serious skin issues like sun damage, birth marks, scars and acne or just for any woman who wants natural looking skin that glows with a healthy radiance."
On February 20, 2007, the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
announced that Gibbons would be a participant in its Spring 2007 Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars (US TV series)
Dancing with the Stars is a reality show airing on ABC in the United States, and CTV in Canada in 2011. The show is the American version of the British BBC television series Strictly Come Dancing...
reality show. She was eliminated from the competition on April 10, 2007. She was the third celebrity eliminated.
On November 14, 2007, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
announced the appointment of Gibbons to the board that oversees California's stem cell research agency. Gibbons fills a slot designated for a patient advocate for Alzheimers as the result of her nonprofit group, Leeza's Place, which is aimed at caregivers for persons with memory disorders. Gibbons' efforts with 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.
Gibbons replaced Meredith Vieira
Meredith Vieira
Meredith Louise Vieira is an American journalist, television personality, and game show host. She is best known for her roles as the original moderator of the ABC talk program The View and co-host of the long-running NBC News morning news program, Today...
for a week of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
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
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
after her mother's diagnosis and provides practical advice on how caregivers and their families can and must take care of their own physical, emotional and spiritual needs in order to give better care to their loved ones suffering with a memory loss disorder. The book was co-written by Leeza's Place Executive Director of the Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation, Dr. Jamie Huysman and Dr. Rosemary Laird of the Health First Aging Institute in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
In 2009, the Alfred Mann Foundation for Scientific Research presented Leeza with its Artistic and Philanthropic Visionary Award.
In 2011, Leeza joined Bill Rancic for Season 2 of "America Now", a Syndicated News Program from Raycom Media
Raycom Media
- History :Although Raycom Media dates its birth to 1996, the core of the company was formed in 1992 when Atlanta native Bert Ellis formed Ellis Communications. He eventually controlled 13 television stations and two radio stations....
.
Personal life
Gibbons has been married four times. Her first was to John Hicks from 1980-82. From 1989- 91 she was married to BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Christopher Quinten
Christopher Quinten
Christopher Quinten is a British actor, best known for his role as Brian Tilsley on Coronation Street, which he played from 1978 to 1989.-Career:...
, with whom she has daughter Jordan Alexandra (Lexi) Gibbons. Her third marriage began in 1991 to Stephen Meadows
Stephen Meadows
Stephen Meadows is an American actor.-Early life:Meadows was born on November 6, 1950, in Atlanta, Georgia.-Career:...
. They have sons Troy and Nathan Daniel. Meadows filed for divorce in February 2005, after 14 years of marriage to Gibbons. Her fourth marriage was in 2011 when Gibbons married Steven Fenton in Beverly Hills.