10 Things You Probably Never Knew About Kelly Ripa's Oldest Son Michael Consuelos

Kelly Ripa and her husband, Mark Consuelos, had their lives transformed in 1997 when the couple went from soap opera actors playing parents on the show "All My Children" to first time parents in real life. The famous couple's oldest child, Michael Joseph Consuelos, was born on June 2, 1997 , and the story of his birth befitted his famous mom and her interest in Hollywood. On an episode of "Live with Kelly & Mark" years later, Ripa recalled her first child's birth. "I remember, I was watching 'Entertainment Tonight' [in the hospital] when they were like, 'Ready to have a baby?' And I was like, 'Okay, can we wait till this episode's over?'" Ripa said (via People). From the very beginning, Michael's life has been entwined with the entertainment industry.

Ripa and Mark share three kids together: Michael, Lola, and Joaquin Consuelos. And the truth about Ripa's kids is that they all take after their parents in one way or another. Michael followed in his parents' acting footsteps, but he is still forging his own path in the television and film industry in his own way. Given that his parents are considered household names, Michael strives to maintain his individuality, so when Ripa's oldest son is not working, he lives a largely private life. That said, read on to discover the details about Michael's life that many people may not be familiar with.

Not only does Michael Consuelos have famous actors and talk show co-hosts for parents, but he also calls two other actors his godparents. Kelly Ripa's son's godmother is none other than former soap co-star Eva LaRue, while Michael's godfather is actor Chris Bruno. In this way, the soap opera "All My Children" not only paved the way to Kelly Ripa's fame and introduced her to her future husband, but it also gave her some forever friendships. In 2021, Ripa acknowledged the bonds she built with her former co-stars on E!'s "Reunion Road Trip." "I still consider my dear friends from the show my family," she said (via E! News).

When Ripa and LaRue first met in 1993, Ripa had already been acting on the soap opera for three years, but the two became fast friends. In "Reunion Road Trip," LaRue called her connection with Ripa a "game-on friendship," and even after Ripa left "All My Children," her cast mate was supportive and remained in her life. When Ripa gave birth to her first child, she was still acting on the soap opera, so LaRue has known Michael since he was born. In a 2015, LaRue revealed that she remained a constant in Michael's life. "He's a great kid," she told Variety. While not much is known about the history of Michael's godfather, Ripa and her husband, Mark Consuelos, clearly formed friendships that turned into a chosen family for their firstborn son.

When many of his peers were watching television shows as children, Michael Consuelos was actually a part of them. Michael was in front of the camera as a young child, not just in typical family home videos, but he was often photographed at events with his celebrity parents as well. Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' oldest son was also behind the camera as a child, as he was part of an animated kid's science fiction television show that was based on Daffy Duck's alter ego called "Duck Dodgers." In 2005, when Michael was only 7 years old, he voiced an animated alien character, Alien Gremmie, in one episode of "Duck Dodgers" titled "Surf the Stars," and it was not the last time he would voice an animated character.

A couple of years later, Ripa's first-born child voiced another animated character in two episodes of the "Dora the Explorer" spin-off show, "Go Diego, Go!" between 2006 and 2007. Michael voiced multiple wolf pup characters on the animated children's show. Since then, the aspiring actor has moved on from kids' shows and voice acting to focusing on working for scripted television shows.

When growing up in a family of five, there are bound to be some similarities between siblings, especially when those siblings are raised by the same parents. Kelly Ripa's oldest son, Michael Consuelos, grew up with his two younger siblings, Joaquin Consuelos and Lola Consuelos, both of whom have gone through transformations of their own — while still remembering the lessons their parents taught them. In 2019, Ripa reflected on what beauty means to the Consuelos family. She revealed that she and her husband, Mark Consuelos, raised all three of their children to not place value on superficial traits. "It's a cliché, but beauty is really something that comes from the inside," Mark said in the Beautiful Issue of People. "And our kids get that."

While the daytime talk show hosts are clearly proud of how their children have matured over the years, Ripa noted to the outlet that Michael in particular "has the strongest moral compass of anyone I've ever known." It certainly is not easy to grow up in the spotlight with two celebrities for parents, particularly in the age of social media, but all three Consuelos children were taught that real beauty goes beyond Instagram filters, and they understand that kindness is what matters. Michael's proud mom gushed, "[Michael] is just such a good and decent and thoroughly kind person."

Another aspect of Michael Consuelos' life people likely never knew about is that when he was still in college, he was not doing an uneventful work study at his university's library, but instead he was working with Hollywood actors. In 2018, Kelly Ripa's oldest son worked as a production assistant on three episodes of the family television sitcom "The Goldbergs." The television show is set in the '80s and stars comedians Wendi McLendon-Covey and Sean Giambrone.

Working in the production department on ABC's "The Goldbergs" marked the beginning of Consuelos' professional life as an adult. While he was inspired by his parents' work on TV, Consuelos went about getting involved in the industry his own way. "That was my first real taste of major production in television, and I've gone on to do some other stuff now," he told Smashing Interviews Magazine of the TV gig. Evidently, Consuelos enjoyed his firsthand look into behind the scenes television production because he continued to pursue a degree and a career in the industry.

All three of Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' kids grew up in a swanky townhouse in New York City's Upper East Side. However, by 2019, their oldest child, Michael Consuelos, had moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn, and Ripa and Consuelos eventually faced the despair of becoming empty-nesters. On "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Ripa explained that, for Michael, the freedom of no longer living under his parents' roof outweighed the negatives. "I think he loves the freedom," Ripa said. "He hates paying his own rent, and he is chronically poor."

Moving boroughs was not the only big change in the young adult's life. In early 2026, Michael became a first time pet parent to a 3-year-old dog named Rosie, whom he occasionally shares pictures of online. In an episode of "Live with Kelly and Mark," the television talk show hosts shared that they became grandparents. Mark described their canine granddaughter as having a "spicy" personality. The Consuelos family are dog people and have included their furry friends in past family Christmas photos. In 2020, Ripa and Mark sought to grow their family by adopting their own dog, a Maltese-Shih Tzu named Lena. "[Rosie] turned into the alpha right away at our house," Mark said. "Lena was no match against Rosie," Ripa added. 

Like many celebrities and their children, Michael Consuelos attended a prestigious private school in New York to pursue higher education, as well as to hone his writing and production skills. Kelly Ripa's oldest son attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he majored in Film. The college student revealed to Go NYU his reason for choosing to attend the school. "I was highly impressed with their film program," Consuelos said. He later told Smashing Interviews, "When I went to NYU, I focused mainly on production and writing, but I also took acting classes." The oldest Consuelos child shared that he always wanted to work in the entertainment industry. "I've always really enjoyed telling stories and being in stories," Consuelos said. Aside from studying film and screenwriting, Consuelos was also on the university's men's cross country team in 2016 during his freshman year at NYU.

Consuelos graduated from the university in 2020, but the graduation and commencement ceremonies were postponed due to COVID-19. The New York University graduate celebrated with his immediate and extended family members on a trip overseas the following year in July. The family visited Italy and Greece, where they had a delayed celebration for Consuelos and his cousin, another recent graduate. Although Consuelos had already technically graduated and taken a post-graduation European vacation, it was not until 2022 that the New York native and his family attended an in-person commencement ceremony at Yankee stadium. 

Mark Consuelos played the recurring character Hiram Lodge in the popular teen show "Riverdale," and his son, Michael Consuelos, followed in his dad's footsteps. Rather than playing Mark's on-screen son, Michael played Hiram's younger self and guest starred in two episodes of the show. In 2018, for Season 3 of "Riverdale," Michael made his first guest appearance alongside his dad, and he returned in 2021 during Season 5 of the show. Not everyone can say that their parents helped to shape them personally and professionally, but that is the case for Michael. Michael described working with his dad to Smashing Interviews and said, "[I]t was really cool to see how he does his thing. I learned a lot from working with him."

"Riverdale" became a family affair when Kelly Ripa made a guest appearance as Hiram's mistress in 2019 and later interviewed her son in 2021 about his role on "Live with Kelly and Ryan." Michael revealed that to prepare for the role, he rehearsed in front of a mirror and mimicked his dad. His mom gave viewers an inside look into his childhood and disclosed that Michael was not always a fan of being on screen. "You were so anti being on camera!" Ripa said, marveling at how far her son has come. "You were always acting as a kid too ... you were always in a land of make believe," she said.   

With his acting skills, dark hair, and facial features, Michael Consuelos has basically grown up to be his father's twin. In 2022, Michael and Mark Consuelos both appeared in that year's issue of People's "Sexiest Man Alive," and the photoshoot showed that Mark and Kelly Ripa's oldest son has grown up to be gorgeous like his father. In the magazine issue, Michael posed like a natural in a fitted suit jacket while shirtless underneath. On an episode of "Live with Kelly and Ryan," Michael's mom remarked how she often forgets her son and husband look alike until she sees them next to one another in pictures (via People). Ripa flipped through the magazine during the segment and addressed her oldest son. The talk show host said, "Michael Consuelos, I always considered you just a handsome lovely fellow. Conscious, hard-working, diligent, respectful" (via People). The mom of three then cringed a bit and said, "I had no idea you were considered 'sexy.' I always found your father to be sexy.'"

Not only are the father-son duo alike in physical appearance, but they have similar fashion sense as well. Michael told People, "My dad has a cool closet." He revealed that he often borrows the actor's clothes but hates when his father tries to dress similar to him. "I got new glasses and then my dad texts me, 'Where did you get those glasses?'" said Michael. "And I'm like, 'Oh no, can you at least pick a different color?'" As with many aspects in Michael's life, he has followed in his dad's footsteps to a certain extent, while also maintaining his own individuality.

While some people live by the philosophy that it is best to avoid getting into business with family, the Consuelos family proved that it is possible to work successfully alongside one another in a professional sense. Michael Consuelos worked with his parents, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, on the Lifetime movie "Let's Get Physical" that premiered in October 2022. The movie, which is based on true events, tells the story of a fitness instructor who recently moved to a new town and runs a brothel for men in the neighborhood. Although Michael worked with his dad on "Riverdale," "Let's Get Physical" was the first time he professionally collaborated with both of his parents. Ripa and Mark were two of the film's executive producers, alongside their friend and fellow producer Jenna Dewan, and their oldest child played a neighbor in the television movie. 

Despite the story itself featuring dark undertones at times, the cast and crew attempted to add elements of fun. Dewan complimented Michael's comedy skills while speaking to "Entertainment Tonight" and told him, "You are a comedian. You were so good and you brought life to every scene we're in." In Smashing Interviews, Michael also provided insight into his working relationship with his parents and revealed they gave him a lot of creative freedom. "I think what was really fun was that they were very hands off about the whole thing," he remarked. "They let me do my own things with the character. It was a really amazing collaborative experience, I think."

Another fact people may not know about Kelly Ripa's oldest son, Michael Consuelos, is that he works in reality television. Although he previously worked on the production side of scripted shows, he then got a job that involved working in the field on a number of popular Bravo shows. In 2023, television personality and network figurehead Andy Cohen announced on an episode of "Live with Kelly and Mark" that Consuelos, whom he has known since childhood, worked behind the scenes on a number of "Real Housewives" franchises, including "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" and "The Real Housewives of New York." Cohen shared that having Consuelos work for him was a "full circle moment" and revealed that he often asked Consuelos' opinions. "I keep texting him being like, 'Who's your favorite?'" Cohen said (via Bravo TV).

Since then, Consuelos has been an associate producer on one episode of "Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition" in 2025, and he also worked on "The Real Housewives of Potomac" that same year. Consuelos worked on the popular Bravo shows "Winter House" and "Summer House" as well. Consuelos may have known Cohen since he was a child, but it seems the nepotism only goes so far when it comes to Consuelos' job duties. "Summer House" star Lindsay Hubbard told Decider, "We didn't see [Consuelos] often. They kind of put him in Video Village and didn't let him out of the basement. Poor guy."