It's been a big week for Kelly Ripa as she received one of the biggest honors of her life, being named a Disney Legend, and by her side was devoted husband Mark Consuelos, and best friend David Muir.
"Your wit and charm and beauty have been legendary for a very long time. Congratulations - so deserved," David publicly shared on Kelly's Instagram post, which featured a compilation of moments from her ceremony.
Mark also praised his wife, writing: The woman, the myth, the Disney Legend!!! Proud of you babe!!!!"
In her speech, Kelly joked: "I know what you're thinking, why her? What has she ever done? She doesn't even go here! To be employed by the same company for 34 years is my great good fortune, I owe everything to Disney – not only my career but my entire immediate family."
Kelly met her husband, actor and talk show host Mark Consuelos, on the set of All My Children in the 1990s; they played love interests on the soap, and are now married with three children. Together, they host the morning show Live!
© Paul Bruinooge
Kelly also told a story how her dad once drive the family from New Jersey to "a magical new world called Disney," where they "stayed at the Polynesian Village… and I can still smell the gardenias, I can see the electric light parade, and we still talk about that trip like it was yesterday".
"Getting to bring our parents back to Disney with their grandchildren has been the privilege of my lifetime and being named a Disney Legend is just the pixie dust on top of the sundae. Without you none of my adult life would have been possible, thank you so very much, I'm so honored," she concluded.
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9-1-1 star Angela Bassett was also named a Disney Legend, and she was introduced by Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, while Star Wars icon Harrison Ford received a standing ovation.
"I love the life you’ve given me. I love the people that I’ve had the opportunity to work with. Nobody does anything in this business for long without collaboration, no matter who we are and what we’re doing," he said.
© DisneyThe ceremony also saw Star Wars and Indiana Jones composer John Williams, as well as Frank Oz – the voice behind Jedi master Yoda – inducted as Disney Legends, as was Miley Cyrus, now the youngest to accept the honor.
The singer also joked that she "definitely wasn't created in a lab," referencing conspiracy theories that Disney child stars are created in the Californian Disney office.
"If I was, there must have been a bug in the system which caused me to malfunction somewhere between the years of 2013 and 2016," she joked, a reference to her controversial Bangerz music era.
