"You're loved-just as you are!"

Leeza Gibbons, 67, was a TV icon during the '80s and '90s, as the host of Entertainment Tonight and her talk show Leeza. But it's her role as caregiver-first to her mother who had Alzheimer's and recently to her mother-inlaw-that she's found the most gratifying and challenging. Here, she shares her best advice for finding calm and joy even during hard times 

- Bonnie Siegler

After a good eight hours of sleep, Leeza Gibbons starts her day with a light breakfast of cereal and fruit, while sipping a cup of coffee: a simple moment that, like most moments these days, she makes sure to really savor. The Emmy Award–winner, author, wife, mother and mental health advocate is an expert at squeezing as much as possible out of every hour. But, there comes a time when you have to step back and refocus, Leeza says.

“My mother-in-law had a stroke and then a serious bout with pneumonia,” Leeza shares with Woman’s World of the crisis that put it all into perspective for her. “We pulled together as a family and had to be strong for her. It just underscored that we only have this moment.”

Sadly, this was not the first time Leeza found herself dealing with a family health issue—or being the caregiver for a parent. After years of tending to her mother before her eventual passing from Alzheimer’s, Leeza knows firsthand the toll being a caregiver can take, and just how much support and self-care someone in that position needs.

That’s why she started the nonprofit organization Leeza’s Care Connection (LeezasCareConnection.org) in 2002 to help caregivers of aging or sick relatives find resources and an uplifting community. “I promised my mom before she passed away that I would tell her story and make it count,” Leeza says, with a proud smile. “And it really has helped so many.”