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| Leeza Gibbons | |
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| Born | Leeza Kim Gibbons 26 March 1957 Hartsville, South Carolina, United States |
| Occupation | Television/Radio personality |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Spouse(s) | John Hicks (m. 1980–1982) Christopher Quinten (m. 1989–1991) Stephen Meadows (m. 1991–2005) |
Leeza Kim Gibbons (born 26 March 1957) 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.
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Biography
Early life
Gibbons was born in Hartsville, South Carolina, and grew up in Irmo, South Carolina, a suburb of Columbia. She graduated from Irmo High School. She is daughter of Jean and Carlos Gibbons, who was a former state superintendent of education as well as antique shop owner.[1][2] She has a brother, Carlos, Jr., and a sister, Cammy. Gibbons graduated from the University of South Carolina's school of journalism and mass communication. She is a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.
Career
Her past television credits include co-hosting PM Magazine, Entertainment Tonight and hosting Extra, as well as 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 1 season, Tesh was dropped from the show and Leeza 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, and Home Improvement . 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 Leeza hosted the radio countdown show Blockbuster Top 25 Countdown with Leeza Gibbons. The show was created for Adult Contemporary and Hot Adult Contemporary formats. Leeza counted down the hits on the respected 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.[3] Leeza 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."[4]
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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]
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 Love 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.[9] 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.
Personal life
Gibbons has been married three times. Her first was to John Hicks from 1980-82. From 1989- 91 she was married to British 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.
Gibbons is active in her non-profit organization, "Leeza's Place," an organization she founded after her mother's diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease that educates and empowers caregivers of loved ones affected by memory disorders.[7] Gibbons also has a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame for television.
In 2009, Gibbons began a new Oscar Party tradition in Hollywood by creating and hosting "A Night to Make a Difference, Academy Awards Viewing and Dinner Party" at Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills, CA.[10] Production is currently underway on the 2nd annual event to be held in Hollywood this year.[10]
Footnotes
- ^ Leeza Gibbons Biography (1957-)
- ^ Leeza Gibbons Biography - Yahoo! Movies
- ^ http://www.leezagibbons.com
- ^ www.leezagibbons.com
- ^ unknown (February 20, 2007). "Meet the New Cast of 'Dancing With the Stars". ABC.com Dancing with the Stars. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Entertainment/story?id=2890554&page=1. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
- ^ http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/2007/11/celebrity-leeza-gibbons-named-as-cirm.html
- ^ a b http://www.leezasplace.org
- ^ http://www.LeezaGibbons.com
- ^ http://www.takeyouroxygenfirst.com
- ^ a b http://www.leezagibbonsanighttomakeadifference.com
References
External links
- Official site
- Leeza's nonprofit
- Leeza Gibbons' Night to Make a Difference Party Website
- Leeza Gibbons Interview at PR.com
- Leeza Gibbons at the Internet Movie Database
- Leeza Gibbons at TV.com
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