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What Does Linda Ripa Do? Everything About Kelly Ripa’s Sister

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Linda Ripa is a children’s book author and once a survivor of a deadly car accident. She though is better known as the younger sister of Kelly Ripa, the co-host of the syndicated morning talk show Live! with Kelly and Ryan.

Linda’s sister Kelly is also an actress, dancer, talk show host, and television producer known for her roles are Hayley Vaughan on the ABC daytime soap opera All My Children and Faith Fairfield on the ABC sitcom Hope & Faith.

On one hand, there’s Kelly who meets with the USA on a daily basis through the beloved show on the Syndication channel while on the other hand, her sister, Linda is a name that has gotten the media attention only on one particular occasion.

And the circumstances were all but pleasing for her. Know what was the real deal in the article below whilst scrolling exclusively about her early life, her relationship with her prominent sister, Kelly, her love life, and further.

Linda Ripa Childhood; She Is Mostly Italian

Linda was born on December 3, 1968, in Camden County, New Jersey. The now 53-year-old is the daughter of Esther Ripa and Joseph Ripa.

Her parents had a ranch-style home, across the street from the one she shared with the father of her son, Sergio. Ripa’s ethnicity includes 75% Italian and 25% Irish.

Former Hope and Faith actress Kelly Ripa – as a child with her mother and younger sister Linda Ripa. Instagram

The writer’s Italian roots are in Calabria, Marche, and Abruzzo.

Linda’s paternal grandfather, Giuseppe Ripa/Joseph was the son of Elpidio Ripa. He was born in San Elpidio (now Sant’Elpidio a Mare), Province of Fermo, Marche, Italy. Her paternal grandmother Maria, too was an Italian.

As for Linda’s maternal grandmother Esther A. DiPretoro, she was the daughter of Palmerino DiPretoro and Mary Laurogna), who was born in Pennsylvania, to Italian parents, from Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy. As a child, Linda apparently had an interest in drawing.

Her nickname as a kid was Ladybug.

What Does Linda Ripa Do?

In the past, Linda reportedly worked as a model and used to host a TV sports show. She had since become a writer, and in 2003 published a children’s book, The Ladybug Blues, based on a story she had created for her son, Sergio-Giuseppe, when he was 4.

the co-host of Live With Kelly And Ryan with her younger sister and writer Linda Ripa
left, The Ladybug Blues writer Linda Ripa with her elder sister, Kelly Ripa, the co-host of Live! with Kelly and Ryan.

As for the present, while her elder sister, Kelly is one of the most recognizable faces from the talk show programs, Linda, herself has kept things seemly under the radar about her in the process pursuits.

The blonde sister of the Hope And Faith alum isn’t very much persisting on Facebook or any other sort of social media resultantly making her whereabouts a matter an extensive unfathomableness. Meanwhile, Kelly too has seldomly mentioned her younger sister, Linda, be it on her overtly active Instagram or otherwise.

Is Linda Married; Who Is Her Husband? 

In light of her absence in the press as well as in the interviews, it is quite perplexing if Linda is married or not. Though what has been pretty known recognized is she at the very least used to have a fiance. When reported in 1999, this then-would-be-husband was a police officer in a resolutely middle-class 300-year-old Camden County town.

Sergio Guiseppe, son of Linda
Musician and guitarist Sergio Guiseppe, the son of Linda Ripa. Instagram

Linda, further had a son, Sergio Giuseppe Ripa with him.

It though never came to the light whether Ms. Ripa married the father of her son or if they have already parted ways at some point in the bygone years. Nothing much has ever surfaced about the father of Sergio Giuseppe and it is not known if Linda is still married to him or has a new partner.

Linda Ripa Survived A Horrible Car Accident; Went Through Multiple Bone Fractures 

Back in 1999, Linda, the younger sister of the ex-Dancin’ On Air star suffered a near-death accident. She was then eight months pregnant with her police officer fiance when a drunk driver hit her after running a red light.

Ripa was driving around Northeast Philadelphia running errands. As she was waiting to turn at a traffic light, some random drunkard hit her with his minivan.

Linda Ripa, the sister of Kelly Ripa, the co-host of the show, Live With Ryan and Kelly
Former Hope and Faith actress Kelly Ripa’s sister, Linda Ripa.

She immediately suffered dozens of crushed and shattered bones in addition to a broken pelvis that resulted in an unborn baby of hers, Sergio-Giuseppe, and simultaneously caused him to go into a coma.

For the next several weeks, Linda experienced fear and pain.

Ms. Ripa, however, refused to take anesthetics when she had leg surgery three days after the accident. This she did out of fear that the drugs would harm her unborn baby. Even after the operations, she rejected pain medication for the same reason. She had needed it during a leg surgery but feared it would damage her baby.

After four weeks in a coma, her son, Sergio-Giuseppe finally responded to stimuli, but he was born about seven weeks premature on Sept. 8, 1999. Linda’s son, Sergio, nonetheless grew up to be fit and healthy and is even aspiring to become a musician. He, though, still reportedly has breathing problems from the trauma but is otherwise normal.

Doctors called Linda’s baby, Sergio, a “miracle baby” because it was truly unbelievable he survived such a hit.

”We don’t know how it happened, but it did and, of course, we call him Miracle Baby. I don’t suspect I will be without pain the rest of my life, but when I look at my son, I know I won’t give up.”

said Ms. Ripa to NY Times in 2002.

The whole incident turned out to be extremely traumatic for the children’s books writer and her family for years. Her sister, Kelly stood by her side through those nightmarish weeks.

After The Accident; Linda Ripa Received Millions Of Dollars

Post the accident, as Linda was recovering from her injuries, some good and some still bad things happened to her. On the brighter side, she received a payment of $15 million from a surgeon who severely messed up one of her surgeries.

The driver, who was drunk, received 6 to 24 months in jail. Ripa in 2002 said the drunk driver’s family, however, used abusive language to her when she showed up in a wheelchair during the trial.

”They called me the names you might imagine as if it was my fault. They really showed no remorse, and I have no doubt that he could go and do this again,”

described the illustrator/author. She added people at the accident scene, on the other hand, were amazing and helpful. After the accident, Linda had to say goodbye to her modeling career.

Her doctors had said she was probably often going to need a cane for longer walks. And for years her walking was stiff at best. Part of the reason why she chose writing as a career was because it needed her to do little mobility.

How Linda’s Sister Kelly Ripa Helped Her Through The Difficult Situations?

As for her elder sister, Kelly, ever since her sister’s near-fatal accident, she’s been an active advocate of organizations for preventing drunk driving. One such organization of hers is Mothers Against Drunk Driving, MADD.

Mark Conseulos with his wife Kelly Ripa, the sister of Linda Ripa
Sister of Linda Ripa, Kelly Ripa with her actor husband, Mark Conseulos. Instagram

In fact, since the accident, both Kelly and Linda have become active in Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Obvious is the fact that the Daytime Emmy Award winner has made it personal to be a part of such activities.

The elder Ripa even served in 2001 as national chair for their Tie One on for safety campaign, in which drivers tie a MADD red ribbon on their cars as a pledge to drive sober on holiday weekends. Linda’s sister, Kelly has also been supportive of Linda’s nascent writing career. She has brought her author sister on ”Live with Regis and Kelly” to promote the book and has also appeared with her at several events.

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