When you become one of the most recognized talk show hosts in the industry like Kelly Ripa, you inevitably get paid handsomely for it.
Ripa’s status as a household name may have been prompted by her 22 years as the co-host of the Emmy Award-winning talk show Live!, but her roots in the entertainment industry date all the way back to her decade-long stint (1990 to 2002) on the ABC soap opera All My Children.
At the time, Ripa was known for her exuberant charm (and still is), but thanks to her charismatic and commanding presence she evaded any notion of plasticity. Her natural on-camera demeanor and likeableness made her a shoo-in as the top candidate to replace Kathie Lee Gifford as Regis Philbin’s Live! co-host in a nationwide search. In 2001, Ripa landed the gig, and in the 22 years since her first taping, she’s seen three co-hosts come and go.
Ripa and Philbin co-hosted Live! from 2001 to 2011. After Philbin stepped down, former NFL player and current co-host of Good Morning America Michael Strahan took up the mantle from 2012 to 2016. Then, in 2017, Ryan Secrest came on board until 2023 at which point he transitioned to Wheel of Fortune as Pat Sajak’s successor.
Nowadays, Ripa is co-hosting Live! with her husband Mark Consuelos, whom she met on the set of All My Children, has been married to since 1996, and shares three kids. As the face of the talk show, Ripa’s salary reflects that of a movie star, and in turn, she’s acquired quite an impressive net worth.
Kelly Ripa’s net worth
Over 30 years in the business is bound to beget some financial gains, and when you’re as much of a constant presence as Ripa, those gains are quite impressive. Aside from Oprah Winfrey or Ellen DeGeneres, most daytime talk show hosts don’t have price tags as impressive as Ripa, unless, of course, you count their history acting in one movie, TV show, or another.
As of 2023, Ripa’s annual salary for co-hosting and executive producing Live! is reportedly $22 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, which was substantiated by Variety in a cover of Ripa years earlier in which her annual salary was reported to be $20 million. That number was undoubtedly much smaller at one point, but thanks to Ripa’s recognition and hard work it’s skyrocketed to a figure most people can only dream of. As a result, her net worth is projected to be $120 million.
In addition to hosting Live! Ripa executive produces the podcast series Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa and Big RV Remix and has been attached to a number of movie and TV shows in both producing and acting roles such as Riverdale, American Housewife, Nashville, and Family Reboot.