What Kathie Lee Gifford Says About Women Using Botox: ‘There is a Different Standard We Judge Men By’
Kathie Lee Gifford is still missed by fans of the Today Show. Hosting the fourth hour of Today alongside pal Hoda Kotb for over a decade, Gifford served as co-host for the last time in April 2019.
Now pursuing her passion projects in her new home in Nashville, Gifford is thriving while putting down her Southern roots. Living life to the fullest at 66 years old, Gifford has previously commented on the benefits of aging and the double standard between men and women when it comes to getting older.
‘I’m really aware that time is precious’
Now embarking on new ventures including songwriting and film producing, Gifford is literally seizing each day. Since losing her husband Frank in August 2015, the former Today co-host appreciates every moment.
“It matters for me now, because I do the math for the first time in my life,” Gifford told Prevention in 2017 on aging. “I’m really aware that time is precious and finite and that I’m going to run out of time for some of the big things I want to do.”
Gifford chooses to focus on her blessings rather than regrets. “All day long, life is about choice,” she said. “I’m healthy… my kids are awesome, life is good. I’m grateful. I think the most important reason to love your age is to be grateful for everything. If you grieve what you’ve lost in life at the expense of being grateful for what you have, you might as well take a dirt nap.”
Kathie Lee Gifford praises iconic actresses
When asked in her Prevention interview if she gravitates toward sit-downs with women of a certain age, Gifford noted that many of today’s finest actresses are in the upper age bracket.
“Some of our favorite guests are Judi Dench and Helen Mirren,” the former NBC co-host said. “They are rock stars, and they’re funny. They’re just a kick in the pants.”
Gifford expressed that the younger generation should be more open to what they can learn from their elders.
“A lot of young people have no respect for the past,” Gifford stated. “They have no idea who came before them, and they think you only have something to say if you’re under the age of 30. I’m sorry, your brain isn’t even fully formed until you’re 25, so you’ve still got a lot to learn.”
Former ‘Today’ co-host quotes Elsa
While Gifford is a proponent of natural beauty, she believes in letting each person decide for themselves when it comes to undergoing cosmetic procedures such as Botox.
“You also have to respect somebody’s decision to do it too,” the television personality said in 2016, according to the Daily News. “I thought we were all past that. Quit judging everybody. If somebody wants to do it — let ’em go. Just like that Frozen song.”
Again, Gifford referenced Mirren and Dench as examples of aging with beauty. “Dame Judi Dench and Helen Mirren are gorgeous. Maggie Smith. Every crevice in her face makes her beautiful,” the former Today star raved. “She’s earned every one of those and every one of those can tell a story.”
Gifford referred to her late husband when making the point that the same rules on aging don’t apply to men.
“But there’s always been a double standard. Frank Gifford, at the age of almost 85, was still the sexiest thing on legs because he just was,” Gifford said. “There is a different standard we judge men by. For women, you’re just not boinkable or bankable after a certain age.”
Despite that double standard, Gifford chooses not to focus on the presumptions of others. “I have no time for other people’s opinions,” she told Prevention. “That’s the other joy of getting older—the number of people whose opinions matter has dwindled down at my age to maybe 10.”
