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The LIVE with Kelly and Mark host has left husband Mark Consuelos to commandeer the ABC show
Kelly Ripa is counting down the days to a big career milestone — the day she is officially honored as a “Disney Legend” with a Disney Legend Award.
The 53-year-old TV star is one of many prominent celebrities being honored this year at the D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, a three-day Disney convention held in California.
The convention caps off with a ceremony honoring the Legends, with other honorees this year including Harrison Ford, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Miley Cyrus, and more.
Kelly is counting down to the milestone on her social media while spending some time off LIVE with Kelly and Mark, although a reason for her absence hasn’t been specified.
She took to her Instagram Stories with an adorable throwback snapshot of herself and husband Mark Consuelos, rocking true ’90s fashion (and hair), with their two oldest kids Michael and Lola as babies at Disney World in Florida. “From Disney World to…” she wrote alongside it.
Kelly then added a photo of her induction into the Disney Legends Hall of Fame, and added: “To Disney Legend! It’s almost here! I’m honored and excited to join the 2024 class of Disney Legends at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.”
The ceremony, in fact, will even serve as a reunion of sorts, as it is hosted by none other than Ryan Seacrest, aka the previous host of LIVE and a close friend of Kelly’s.
Her biography alongside her induction reads: “Kelly Ripa is one of the most powerful voices in media, with a diverse body of work both on and off camera. With a career at ABC spanning over 30 years, Kelly has welcomed viewers with her sharp wit every morning as co-host and executive producer of the nationally syndicated show LIVE.”
Among her list of accomplishments on television over her decades in the industry, it also adds: “In September 2022, Kelly added New York Times best-selling author to her resume, when her collection Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories was published.”
“Additionally, she recently launched the second season of her own podcast titled Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa. She lives in New York City with Mark Consuelos, and together the couple have three children.”
Meanwhile, in the midst of Kelly’s absence from LIVE, Mark has taken charge of the show with a host of rotating guest co-anchors, including Deja Vu, Jane Krakowski, and Maria Menounos.
The ceremony will take place on Sunday, August 11 at the convention in California. Ryan made the announcement in a special video, in which he said: “The Disney Legends ceremony has become one of the Walt Disney company’s most meaningful traditions, where we celebrate people who define Disney, and who have made an indelible mark on the company.”
The awards were first established in 1987 and are termed as the “highest honor the Walt Disney company can bestow,” and in his announcement, Ryan sweetly also paid tribute to his friend when introducing the winners, introducing Kelly as “my good friend Kelly Ripa.”
