Kelly Ripa Celebrates 30 Years at ABC

Water Mill star Kelly Ripa celebrated 30 years of employment at ABC on Thursday, November 5.

Ripa, who has co-hosted Live! with Kelly and Ryan since 2001 (with late co-host Regis Philbin and later Michael Strahan, and now Ryan Seacrest), got her start with ABC on the long-running soap opera All My Children in 1990, where she played Hayley Vaughan. During her time on the show, she met now-husband Mark Consuelos, who played her love interest, Mateo Santos. Ripa also starred on the ABC sitcom Hope & Faith.

Several of Ripa’s All My Children co-stars, including perennial Hamptons fave Susan Lucci, appeared on Live! to help Ripa celebrate.

“For me, All My Children was way more than a job—it was my family!” Ripa said on the November 5 episode.

While most of the stars like Cameron Mathison, Eva La Rue and others appeared virtually, Lucci was in the studio. Lucci recalled meeting Ripa in the cast’s public bathroom, where the two instantly hit it off. Watch the clip of the All My Children reunion above.

Congrats to Ripa on 30 great years!