Oprah and Other Stars Help Emotional Kelly Ripa Celebrate 15 Years of ‘Live’

Kelly Ripa celebrated her fifteenth anniversary of hosting Live Friday, and because she’s always been one to shy away from attention, they only spent the entire hour celebrating her. Michael Strahan — who replaced Ripa’s original co-host, Regis Philbin — kicked things off with a special gift: a necklace with the word “Live” written in diamonds.

A number of celebrities came by to surprise Ripa, including Neil Patrick Harris, Andy Cohen, and David Muir. Bryan Adams also came by to perform a special song. Video messages from Oprah Winfrey, Judge Judy Sheindlin, Jimmy Kimmel, and Josh Groban were played. Finally, Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger came out to remind Kelly she has actually spent 25 years with the company, because she was on All My Children for a decade. He gave Ripa a special Tinkerbell statue, a gift Disney employees get after working for the company for a quarter of a century.

An emotional Ripa thanked everyone. “It is beyond my vocabulary to express to everybody here, family and friends, and the staff, who feels like family and friends, what this means to me,” she said through tears. “All of the good fortune I’ve had in my life, with my husband and my children, it is all because you’ve been so supportive and so accepting of me into your homes every day, and it’s an honor that I don’t take for granted, even for a second. So thank you for being here.”

Meanwhile On Daytime, Michelle and Barack Obama Exchange Valentine’s Day Messages on ‘Ellen’:

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