Television personality, talk and game show host. Born Regis Francis Xavier Philbin, on August 25, 1933, in New York, New York. Part of an Irish-American catholic family, he was the eldest son of Frank and Florence Philbin, and grew up in the South Bronx. He was named Regis after Regis High School, a Jesuit boys school in Manhattan, and his father's alma mater.



Philbin then spent seven successful years on A.M. Los Angeles, and won an Emmy for his work on The Regis Philbin Show.

Philbin hosted the morning show Temp on KHJ-TV in Los Angeles for three years, and worked on two game shows for ABC, hosting The Neighbors and reporting for Almost Anything Goes. He also hosted a feature/magazine show for Lifetime Cable Network called Regis Philbin Lifestyles, which eventually became (another) The Regis Philbin Show on prime time.

In 1983, he joined Cindy Garvey on New York City's The Morning Show, but the show did not fare well in the ratings until Garvey was replaced by Kathie Lee Gifford in 1985. The show was renamed Live! With Regis & Kathie Lee when it became nationally syndicated in 1988. Philbin has been nominated for an Emmy seven times for his co-hosting role.


After dominating the ratings race during the network "sweeps" period, it earned a regular place in the schedule, made the Philbin phrase "Is that your final answer?" a staple in pop culture circles, and inspired competing networks to jump on the prime-time game show bandwagon. In February 2000, Philbin reportedly inked a deal with ABC's corporate owner Disney that will bring his annual salary for Who Wants to be a Millionaire to an unprecedented (for a game show host) $20 million.

After a coronary heart disease scare triggered by high cholesterol, Philbin has taken on a role as spokesperson for The American Heart Association. In 1993, after undergoing angioplasty, Philbin made an exercise video, Regis: My Personal Workout. He is also a vocal supporter of his alma mater, Notre Dame, and received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the university in 1999 for his contributions to Notre Dame and South Bend, Indiana, where the school is located.

Philbin was married to Kay Faylan from 1955-68; the couple had two children, Amy (b. 1961) and Daniel (b. 1967). He has referred to his son, born with serious birth defects, as his hero. Philbin married Joy Senese in 1970, and they had two daughters, Joanna (b. 1973) and Jennifer (b. 1974). Joy, is a frequent guest co-host on Live and is the host of her own interior decorating show, Haven.

In addition to the enormous success of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Philbin's popularity among TV audiences was confirmed in the latter half of 2000, when ratings for Live shot up after the departure of cohost Gifford, who decided to concentrate on her musical career.
After a much-publicized search for a new cohost, Philbin introduced his new foil, soap opera star Kelly Ripa, in February 2001.