Kathie Lee Gifford on How Her Christian Faith Has Kept Her Grounded, Considers Hollywood Her Mission Field

Legendary TV host, singer, actress, and producer Kathie Lee Gifford says when she was a teenager God told her to be a light in the darkness even while working in the entertainment industry. 

"Ever since I entered this industry in a full-time way when I was 17 years old, the Lord was very, very clear with me and He said: 'Never separate the secular from the spiritual. You live in my world, you live in my world,' she recalled during a recent interview with host Sadie Robertson Huff on the Whoa That's Good Podcast.

"People will try to say Hollywood is secular. {People say} there is such a godless world there. But God is everywhere," Gifford added.

She reminded the podcast's listeners that there is no such thing as a "godless place."

"There might be people that don't know yet God and don't know that He loves him. But there is no godless place on this planet," Gifford noted. "There's no godless place in this cosmos and all of creation. God, the Creator, is everywhere."

She explained to Huff that no matter the project, she knew that Jesus was with her and that she always tries for others to see him no matter where she goes. 

"I knew every time I walked on a movie set, on a television set, or a recording studio or a stage, or a Baptist church, or Israel or whatever — it was God's world. And I got the privilege of being in it and walking in it with Yeshua, Jesus," the entertainer said. "And He would be with me whether I was talking to Jay Leno or I was talking to Billy Graham. I had to be authentically a Child of God Kathie Lee wherever I went. And when I started separating those two is the only time I ever got in trouble. ... He created all the world."

Gifford, 69, became a household name as co-host of "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" and later NBC's "Today." She's now dedicating the rest of her life to telling biblical stories through fascinating and new lenses.

As CBN News reported, she produced and stars in a new Christmas movie titled The Way that will be exclusively streamed on the faith-based streaming platform Pure Flix in December. 

The Way is described as a musically driven movie promising to bring the Bible to life "as you've never seen before," with oratorios (narrations set to music) driving the experience.

Viewers will see stars like Larry Gatlin, Jimmie Allen, Danny Gokey, BeBe Winans, and Nicole C. Mullen deliver these biblical stories.

Gifford also released a new book this fall titled The God of the Way: A Journey into the Stories, People, and Faith That Changed the World Forever.

She has been outspoken about her Christian faith for years. As CBN News reported last month, Gifford defended marriage as an institution from God during an interview, saying it should be a "holy alliance."

"God loves marriage," the former TV host told Fox News. "God instituted marriage for {a} reason, for a purpose. Family is so important to God. Marriages are under attack. Monogamy is under attack."

She also openly addressed her Christian faith, calling it the "essence of everything" she is as a person.

"I don't have a religion. I have a relationship with a living God, which is more than a 24/7 situation," Gifford said. "It's a time. And that's why I do it. That's the short answer."

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