'Today' Show Favorite's Daughter Gives Birth to Baby Boy
The Today Show family has expanded. Kathie Lee Gifford is basking in being a grandmother for the second time. The famed journalist's daughter, Cassidy Gifford, recently gave birth to a baby boy named Finn, who marks Kathie Lee's second grandson. Cassidy made the announcement in an Instagram post. "Our whole entire world," Cassidy wrote. "Finn Thomas Wierda 6.24.2023. We are so madly in love with you, buddy." She and her husband, Ben Wierda, have been married for two years. Kathie Lee, 69, first became a grandparent in June 2022. Her son, Cody Gifford, welcomed a baby boy, Frank. The baby is named after his grandfather, Kathie Lee's late husband, Frank Gifford. He died in 2015.
Gifford died in August 2015. The former New York Giants player died in his Connecticut home at the age of 84. At the time, his family released a statement that read: "It is with the deepest sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father, and friend, Frank Gifford. "Frank died suddenly this beautiful Sunday morning of natural causes at his Connecticut home. We rejoice in the extraordinary life he was privileged to live, and we feel grateful and blessed to have been loved by such an amazing human being. We ask that our privacy be respected at this difficult time and we thank you for your prayers."
Gifford married Kathie Lee in 1986, and they later had their two children: Cody and Cassidy. He also had three children – Jeff, Kyle and Victoria – from his first marriage with Maxine Avis Ewart.
The religious family relied on their faith to get through the difficult time in grieving Gifford's death. "Deeply grateful to all 4 ur outpouring of grace," Kathie Lee tweeted at the time. "We r steadfast in our faith & finding comfort in knowing where Frank is. Phillippians 4:13."
After more than a decade co-hosting the NBC morning news program, Kathie Lee left the show in 2019. She admit that her husband's death caused her to view life differently.
"After my husband passed, you really realize that you're gonna run out of time. He didn't know that morning he was running out of time," she said during an interview with Jimmy Fallon. "And then my mom passed, as well."
She continued, "I realized just recently that I'm in a state where I never dreamed I'd be. I'm a widow, I'm an orphan and I'm an empty nester and that just hit me like a ton of bricks. For the first time in my life, I have the time and the means to go and do anything I want to do."