All About Kelly Ripa’s Sister, Linda Ripa – The Beautiful But Unlucky Girl

Kelly Ripa shares a lot of her life with the public on Live with Kelly and Mark, but her sister, Linda Ripa, remains mostly out of the spotlight.

Joseph and Esther Ripa welcomed Linda on Dec. 3, 1968, and Kelly on Oct. 2, 1970, and raised them in New Jersey. The siblings went on to pursue careers in the entertainment industry, but in 1999, a car accident changed everything for Linda. She was severely injured and had to make significant adjustments to her daily life and career.

Throughout the challenging times following the accident, Kelly was there to support her big sister. These days, Linda is a mother of three and Kelly is a proud and involved aunt.

Although Linda has kept her life a lot more private than her sister’s, she and her family members have shared bits and pieces of her story via interviews and social media.

Here’s everything to know about Kelly Ripa’s sister — Linda Ripa — and their sibling relationship.

Kelly and Linda grew up in New Jersey

Kelly and Linda grew up in Camden County, New Jersey. In 2017, Kelly told SJ Magazine that there was “always a lot of love and laughter in the house, and tons of fun.”

While the environment in their home was lighthearted, Joseph and Esther also prioritized teaching their daughters to be good people.

“My parents are just so proud of their two children, and it has nothing to do with what we do for a living,” Kelly told Redbook in 2007. “For them, it’s all about trying your hardest to be a decent person every day and being grateful for what you have. That’s how I was raised.”

Linda was a model and actress

Like Kelly, Linda pursued a career in entertainment. She was a model and an actress before becoming an author, per a 2002 New York Times interview.

She has three children

Linda has a son, Sergio, and two daughters, Gigli and Gianna. In a December 2020 Facebook post, her father wished her a happy birthday and expressed his gratitude for his “three wonderful grandkids.”

According to Joseph’s Facebook, Sergio is Linda’s eldest child, Gianna is the middle child and Gigli is the youngest.

When Linda spoke to The New York Times in 2002, she shared her long-held desire to become a mother. “Though I had a career, I had always wanted, from when I was a girl, to be a mommy,” she said. “Everyone would tell you that.”

Kelly is a proud aunt and wished Sergio a happy birthday in a September 2021 Instagram post. She shared a photo of her nephew posing with her dog Lena, and captioned the post: “It’s my nephew’s birthday and Lena is pretty psyched about it! She’s already singing! Happy birthday @maanbarepiig.”

Linda was injured in a car accident

In the summer of 1999, when Linda was seven months pregnant with her son Sergio, she was seriously injured in a car accident. She was driving in Philadelphia, running errands, when a drunk driver crashed into her at a traffic light. Linda was left with several broken bones, including a crushed pelvis that impacted her womb and put unborn Sergio in a coma in utero.

Fortunately, he recovered after about a month. “We don’t know how it happened, but it did, and of course we call him Miracle Baby,” Linda shared in her 2002 New York Times interview.

In the wake of the accident, she underwent many difficult surgeries and had to come to terms with her life never being the same again. “I don’t suspect I will be without pain the rest of my life,” she told the outlet. “But when I look at my son, I know I won’t give up.”

A year after the accident, her pain was still making it challenging to care for her son. Linda recalled, “It was the worst thing you could imagine. As much as I hurt from all the broken bones and operations, the worst thing was not really being able to hold my son for very long. Any mother would tell you that.”

Linda is a children’s book author

After Linda told her son Sergio and Kelly’s son Michael a story about a lonely ladybug, she was inspired to write a children’s book called The Ladybug Blues. As it turns out, Ladybug was Linda’s nickname growing up.

Linda wrote down her story and added illustrations after sharing it with her son and nephew. Then, Kelly and her parents encouraged her to publish the book, and she did so in 2002.

Linda ended up going on a national book tour and finding joy in her new path. “It is so rewarding to go to a reading and have all these little faces light up when you read them a story,” she told The New York Times that same year.

Kelly’s sister reflected on adapting in different ways, including with her career, after her accident. “You just have to adjust what you do,” Linda said, adding, “I can’t say I love having been in this accident, but slowing down isn’t so bad, either.”

Linda’s story gives Kelly important perspective

Linda’s journey reminds Kelly what truly matters.

“Every day of my life that I feel like I’m going to complain about something small, minute, I think of my sister,” she said in 2001, per Hello. “And it makes you appreciate what’s important in life.”

Kelly expressed her gratitude for her and husband Mark Consuelos’ children and added, “If everything we’ve achieved together disappeared tomorrow, we would still have three healthy, beautiful kids. And who could ask for anything more than that?”

Kelly is supportive of Linda

Kelly has shown a lot of support for Linda over the years. According to Linda’s 2002 New York Times interview, both sisters became active in Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) after Linda’s accident.

Kelly took on the role of chairwoman and celebrity spokeswoman for Tie One On for Safety, a movement where drivers tie a MADD red ribbon on their cars to signify that they’ll drive sober.

The TV host also publicly celebrated The Ladybug Blues with her sister on multiple occasions. She had Linda on Live with Regis and Kelly to help promote the book and attended Linda’s July 2002 book signing at Borders Bookstore in New York City.