KARDASHIAN fans have been floored after learning who is Kylie and Kendall Jenner’s famous godmother.
Former Today show co-host Kathie Lee Gifford has served that roll since birth, and even played a key part in the creation of the Kardashian empire.
Instagram/Kylie JennerKendall and Kylie Jenner have a surprising godmother[/caption]
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal viaKathie Lee Gifford (middle) is the godparent of Kris Jenner’s girls[/caption]
Kathie Lee, 69, has been a friend of momager Kris Jenner since the late 1970s, when she first moved to Los Angeles to pursue her entertainment career.
The apparently long-forgotten detail resurfaced in a Reddit discussion, after someone inquired about the Kardashian kids’ godparents.
“Do we know who are their godparents? Industry friends?” the poster asked. “I know that Kendall and Kylie‘s godparents are Frank and Kathie Lee Gifford. What about the others?”
That led to the realization and discussion about the link between Kathie Lee and the Kardashians.
“Omg Kathie Lee! I had no idea!” one person exclaimed.
Another added: “I think this sub forgets that sometimes.”
While a third pointed out that former boxer Sugar Ray Leonard is Kim and Khloe‘s godparent.
“They were surrounded by rich famous people growing up,” the poster concluded.
LIVE WITH KRIS AND KATHIE LEE
In an except from her memoir It’s Never Too Late, Kathie Lee discussed her friendship with Kim.
“We studied the Bible together, and then, as is often the case, lost touch in 1982 when I moved to New York to do Good Morning America.”
She reconnected with the family when she and her late husband Frank ran into Caitlyn Jenner, who was then known as Bruce, at a celebrity tennis tournament.
Caitlyn told them she “met the most amazing woman” who “isn’t in the business, thank God.”
Kathie Lee wrote: “What very few people know is that at the time, the family was in difficult financial straits.”
She claimed Kris was managing Caitlyn’s career, but the Olympic gold medalist “was no longer the super sports hero du jour and wasn’t pulling in the lucrative endorsement or appearance money” she once did.
Kathie Lee continued: “As they say, fame is fleeting. I kept praying with Kris as they struggled, moving from one rental home to another in order to survive.”
BIRTH OF AN EMPIRE
When Kathie Lee was asked to do a reality series, she told her agent to reach out to Kris, as a show with the Jenner family would be “unbelievable.”
She continued to pen: “It was true. Life in the Jenner home was a perpetual funny, crazy roller coaster of a ride. A circus. In one door, the Giffords, and out another door, the Jackson family. Wayne Gretzky, Scott Hamilton, O.J. Simpson – you name them. They were all a part of the Jenner’s everyday lives.”
Her agent said no “very strongly,” as she said she “wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole.”
The agent did, however, refer them to Ryan Seacrest, who she represented at the time.
Kathie Lee wrote: “Keeping Up with the Kardashians premiered in October 2007 and began a worldwide, frenzied phenomenon that continues to this day. I remember when the first episode premiered.
“I was nervous because I knew all too well how producers will manipulate anything they can to heighten the tension, increase the drama, and ensure they get a hit.”
The former Live with Regis and Kathie Lee host warned Kris and urged her to have creative control.
She wrote: “Make sure they represent you accurately. Make sure they show you saying grace over the food and going to church. It’s important.”
Kris assured her she was one of the executive producers of the E! series.
“This was a family I dearly loved,” Kathie Lee reminisced. ” This was a friend I prayed with about everything. Now her family was on the verge of the kind of fame that was truly going to change everything. I was happy for her and terrified for her at the same time.”
Kendall and Kylie still have gifts from the host, including a dollhouse and bracelet, which Kylie saved for her daughter Stormi.
In her book, Kathie Lee defended their relationship.
“I have been criticized for years for my continued association with this family,” she concluded. “But I couldn’t care less what people think.”
GettyKathie Lee and Kris have been friends for decades[/caption]
AlamyKendall and Kathie Lee reunited at New York Fashion Week in 2012[/caption]
GettyKathie Lee was a key component in the Kardashians careers[/caption]
