Leeza Gibbons, 67, is stepping back from Hollywood after working with stars like Tom Cruise and Trump
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Leeza Gibbons is stepping away from showbusiness for a project that is close to her heart.
The 67-year-old blonde has been active in Hollywood for over 45 years as she worked with stars like Tom Cruise and Donald Trump.
She was an on-air journalist and cohost for Entertainment Tonight and then starred on her self-titled show Leeza before appearing on The Celebrity Apprentice with Trump and guest-starring on The Talk with Sharon Osbourne.
Now the South Carolina native wants to work on helping Alzheimer's patient caregivers find the resources they need.
That is why she will be devoting a lot of her time to her nonprofit, Leeza's Care Connection.
The star has seen first-hand how challenging it is to cope with loved ones that have Alzheimer's: Gibbons' mother Jean passed in 2008 from the disease and her grandmother also died from it.
Leeza Gibbons is stepping away from showbusiness for a project that is close to her heart. The 67-year-old blonde star has been active in Hollywood for decades. Seen in 2019
Now she wants to work on helping Alzheimer's patient caregivers find the resources they need through her nonprofit, Leeza's Care Connection. Gibbons' mother Jean (seen here in 1998) passed in 2008 from the disease
'It's the greatest work I've ever done,' Gibbons told People.
The red carpet veteran wanted to help caregivers and make sure they can talk to others about what they go through.
'I always say, "You can't heal it if you don't reveal it." There's tremendous power in feeling heard, in being able to relieve some of the guilt or grief or even frustration felt by caregivers.'
And then she said: 'It's the most fun. It's the most creative; it's the most dynamic. The only thing that really lasts is how we care for each other. And this puts me in touch with that on a daily basis.'
But she won't completely leave Hollywood.
'I wouldn't say I retired,' Gibbons said with a chuckle. She is developing TV projects at the moment.
'I call it 'downshifting,' she said. 'It doesn't mean you're not in the race anymore. It just means that you've found a different lane, and you're no longer distracted by the other cars on the road.
'And I think you get such greater clarity of where you're going and what you want.
She was an on-air journalist and cohost for Entertainment Tonight
Gibbons during an interview with host Jay Leno on The Tonight Show in 1993
The beauty in red while on The Talk with Sharon Osbourne
'No one has loved their career more than I've loved mine. It has been such a fun ride, and I've loved every aspect of it,' she shared with the site.
'But I deliberately changed the pace of it when I stepped into what I see as my real calling, which was my nonprofit.'
Leeza called this her 'third act.'
'I think life comes in three stages,' said Gibbons.
'Stage one, you are growing and learning. Stage two, the middle of your life, you're acquiring and achieving. And then you get to stage three, where I am now, where you get to celebrate and reflect — and start receiving.'
Her philosophy on life is a health one: 'I think you start out being happy, then there's some dips along the way, and as you get older, you climb back up that happiness curve. And that's when you find peace.'
And she has a smart approach with ageing: 'I don't look at people and think, "How old are you?" I think, "How many lives have you lived?"'
Leeza is married to former talent manager Steven Fenton.
The star was on The Celebrity Apprentice with Donald Trump; seen in 2015 in NYC
Leeza is married to former talent manager Steven Fenton. Seen in 2016 in Las Vegas
They met at the Montage hotel in Beverly Hills during a blind date in 2009.
Fenton, who is the former president of the Beverly Hills Board of Education, proposed to her in June 2010.
'On my first date with Steven, he was 38 and I was 51... Now three yeas later, I am finally able to embrace my inner cougar', Gibbons exclaimed in 2011.
Gibbons has had a rollercoaster love life.
She was married to John Hicks between 1980 to 1982. She married British actor Chris Quinten for two years who is the father of Lexi. He starred in long running soap opera Coronation Street for 10 years.
After their divorce in 1991 she married Stephen Meadows that same year but divorced in 2005. He is the father of Troy and Nathan.
