“God wanted me to be famous”

Kathie Lee Gifford’s faith has helped her overcome life’s challenges, big and small.

Right now, she’s recovering from hip surgery that was “very tough,” even for someone who’s been “fit her whole life,” she told Yahoo Entertainment, sitting with an ice pack and her dog, Bambino, for our virtual chat. Her recovery coincides with the release of her historical nonfiction book. Herod and Mary: The True Story of the Tyrant King and the Mother of the Risen Savior, which has now been published.

The book “was my son’s idea,” she said, referring to Cody Gifford, who, she joked, “is always looking for things to keep me out of trouble and make money.” But don’t worry: It’s her own passion project, born out of her lifelong quest to understand the Bible’s teachings.

“On one of my trips to Israel … I learned so much about Herod,” she said. “This man didn’t just kill you in a nice way. He even tortured his wives. … I came home burning to make a film about him or write a book about him.”

The book contrasts “the evil” of the King of Judea with the “purity of Mary, who bears the Savior of the world, Jesus,” says Gifford. She collaborated with Bryan M. Litfin, an author and professor of religious studies, on the book, which is the first in a three-part series (titled Ancient evil, living hope) deals with betrayal, miracles and ultimate hope.

During her successful career in the entertainment business – including as Emmy-winning co-host of Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda And Live with Regis and Kathie Lee — Gifford said she has shared her Christian faith with “millions of people.” She said it is her calling.

“A friend of mine said to me the other day, ‘I hate being famous,'” Gifford recalled. “I said, ‘There are many things I don’t like about being famous, but God wanted me to be famous because He gave me the right words to say it and to be bold and not afraid of what others might say or think.'”

“Whenever I had the opportunity at any point on any of these networks, I shared the hope of the Lord with people – and our ratings went through the roof,” she continued. “Then all the suits, all the networks said, ‘Well, maybe, maybe she’s onto something there – this faith thing. We don’t want it, but people obviously love it. Let’s give the people what they want.'”

When asked if she was ever advised to talk less about her faith during her career, she said, “No, they knew I would stop. … I am my faith.’ When I came to Hollywood, I had already believed in Jesus for ten years … I knew this was what I was supposed to do. I was called to this industry.”

Gifford said her openness led to guests on her talk shows often coming backstage after the show to talk privately about their faith and personal issues.

“They always asked me to pray with them,” she said. “People made it a secret. Nobody wanted anyone to know that they were interested in spiritual things. But everyone is hungry. And I see that people are becoming more and more afraid. They ask, ‘Kathie, do you think there is more evil in the world now?’ I say, ‘No, there is just a lot more news on cable.'”

One celebrity who surprised her by comforting her in a time of need was Kevin Costner. In 1996, Gifford was accused of using child labor in the production of her clothing line, an accusation she describes as “completely fabricated” and which she described as “one of the worst experiences of my life.”

“I got a call – ‘Kathie, Kevin Costner is calling for you,'” she recalled. “I said, ‘What?’ I don’t think I’d ever met him. He said to me, ‘I just want you to know that I don’t believe a word of it. Nobody believes that stuff’ … and ‘Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world,’ which is in the Scriptures. I said, ‘You grew up in church?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I learned that. I don’t always follow it,'” she laughed. “We became friends through that and I always got a call when something went wrong.”

For a time, their families vacationed together and Costner played golf with her late husband, Frank Gifford. Over the years, they lost touch, but their gratitude remains.

“I’ve tried to be that way with others,” she said. “You try to forget the evil that was done to you, but you try never to forget when someone reached out to you and showed you kindness when they didn’t have to.”

Gifford said the exploitation scandal was one of the worst years of her life. During that time, she also learned that Frank had been unfaithful in their marriage. She famously forgave him with the caveat that they would have to work on their relationship.

“I forgave Frank so much,” she said, snapping her fingers. “But he thought it would be easy for me and my life would go back to the way it was before. I said, ‘No, no, no. We have work to do.'”

She still remembers the words of her marriage counselor as she tried to get over it.

“He said, ‘Kathie, if you can’t forgive your husband, forgive the father of your children,'” she recalled. “I said, ‘I adore this guy. I can (forgive) this guy.’ So I turned my eyes to my children instead of my broken heart. People said he humiliated you. No, he didn’t. He humiliated himself. He put me down, but he didn’t humiliate me.”

Gifford’s faith and openness about life’s pitfalls have endeared her to her fans, and she is “very grateful that people still care about her.” After all, “I’ve seen it differently,” she said. “There was a time when it was just, ‘We hate Kathie Lee.’ They thought I was a fraud. And, you know, that’s the one thing I’m not.”