The 72-year-old matriarch is a mom to now-adult children Cassidy and Cody
Credit: TODAY/YouTube
NEED TO KNOW
- Kathie Lee Gifford shared the one trait all five of her grandchildren got from her late husband Frank
- Gifford cherishes watching her children, Cassidy and Cody, raise their kids with strong manners and kindness
- She finds joy and purpose in her role as a grandmother, calling it one of her life’s greatest blessings
Kathie Lee Gifford is sharing the sweet trait all of her grandchildren got from her late husband Frank Gifford.
The published author, 72, sat down with Hoda Kotb during the Monday, March 9 episode of Today to talk about her new book Nero & Paul: How the Gospel of Grace Defeated the Ruler of Rome. During the conversation, Gifford raved about her five grandchildren, sharing the one trait they each share with her late husband.
“They all have Frank’s cleft chin,” Gifford told Kotb, 61. “And they’re all absolutely athletic."
Gifford and her late husband welcomed two kids, Cassidy, 32, and Cody, 35, during their relationship. Cassidy and her husband Ben Wierda are parents of two — daughter Rosie, 9 months, and son Finn, 2 — while Cody and his wife, Erika, are parents of daughter Faith, who was born in September 2025, and sons Ford, 2, and Frank, 3.
During the Wednesday, Jan. 21 episode of Making Space with Hoda Kotb, the former Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee host opened up about her life as a grandmother. She revealed that her grandchildren are learning an invaluable lesson that she instilled in her now-adult children when they were kids.
"Yesterday I was out to lunch. Cody’s little boy Frankie is 3½, and little Ford just turned 2, and all the waitstaff comes by, and they both put out their hands out to everybody to go, 'Nice to meet you!' " she recalled while imitating their handshake.
When Kotb noted that the little one's manners are something she remembers from Gifford's own children, the proud mom of two added her grandkids have gone "beyond that" now. She explained that they are showing even more traits, such as making eye contact and wishing people well.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Gifford shared that "one of the most joyful things in my life" is witnessing her children become parents.
“I think that’s one of the most joyful things in my life is watching my children be such amazing parents,” she said, before referring to her late husband. “If Frank and I did anything right, it would be that.”
Credit: Erika Gifford Instagram ; Kathie Lee Gifford Instagram
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Back in July 2024, Gifford opened up to PEOPLE about her special relationship with her grandsons.
"I'm just so grateful for them. They're precious and they give me a purpose to get up every morning when everything else is just not the same for me," Gifford told PEOPLE. "Life is just so different and I just try to find joy when I can find it."
"And the only place I can really find it is in the Word of God and in my grandsons," she continued.
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