The hosts of “Live with Kelly and Ryan” have never looked cuter.
Kelly Ripa, 48, and Ryan Seacrest, 44, are “Benjamin Button”-like in their youthful appearance. But they literally take the cake in this spot-on photo shoot by Connecticut photographer Ute Cowan of Ute-Christin Photography.
Cowan shot a photo series for a cake smash (a chance for a baby to get messy with cake) with tiny Ripa and Seacrest lookalikes on a set that resembles the real one. Check out the coffee cups with the show’s name — they’re actually cake!
The mom of two organized the shoot because “how many unicorn cake smashes can you do?” she told USA TODAY, laughing.
Ripa admitted her fondness for carbs, sharing a photo from the series on her 49th birthday Wednesday at the 3:50-minute mark. The show captioned the Instagram video, “#LiveUNread birthday edition!”
“I do love cake just as much as I love bread. Cake club was a harder sell around here than Bread Club,” Ripa said. “By the way, these two kids, we can all agree, are adorable.”
The show also retweeted the resulting photos.
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From Germany to the ‘Kelly and Ryan’ audience
It began with a call for blond babies.
Actually, it began much earlier.
Cowan came over from Germany 17 years ago as an au pair. Her English was shaky. To learn, she watched TV. She stayed in the U.S. when she married an American, but TV, she said, became an addiction.
“I love television so much,” Cowan said. “Oh my gosh. So, so much. When the kids go to bed I have 4 to 5 hours to watch TV.”
Even her children, Maya, 8, and Felix 4, are named after TV characters. Maya after the animated series “Maya the Bee,” and Felix after, naturally, the classic cartoon “Felix the Cat. “
Her favorite show is “The Ellen Show” with Ellen DeGeneres. “Kelly and Ryan” her second favorite. She’s been an audience member three times, twice in New York and once in Los Angeles.
The Milford, Conn. photographer wanted to stretch creatively so she issued a casting call for fair-haired babies.
Emalyn Wolanin, 15 months and Jaxon Hashemi, 11 months, were cast to be Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest in photographer Ute Cowan's "Live with Kelly and Ryan"-themed photo series. (Photo: Ute-Christin Photography)
Cake and great escapes
Cowan didn’t say why she wanted the fair-haired babies. Just that the professional photo shoot would be free.
Mom Stephanie Hashemi said she arrived and found Cowan’s studio transformed with a New York skyline, a cutout of producer Michael Gelman sitting in a director’s chair and even a pale blue suit for her 11-month-old son Jaxon to wear.
“We were thrilled!” Hashemi said. “Because we are huge fans of the show. Kelly’s fabulous. She’s always upbeat and happy.”
Jaxon performed his Seacrest in miniature with dignity, never once crying, only occasionally dashing away after his mug of cake frosting was gone. “He has just learned to walk,” mom explained.
Jaxson Hashemi, 11 months, isn't as content as the Ryan Seacrest he's playing to sit still for lively chatter. Er, cake eating. (Photo: Ute-Christin Photography)
And wee little Ripa, 15-month-old Emalyn Wolanin, who Cowan worried with her high-energy might prove a difficult subject, stuck her face in the cake and stayed there.
“You put cake there and you know what? She’s like, ‘I’m all in,’ ” said her mother Jessica Wolanin. “People think it’s hysterical.”
Emalyn Wolanin, 15 months, doesn't care that her co-host ate all the frosting. The cake looks good to her. (Photo: Ute-Christin Photography)
She might have helped herself to Jaxon’s cake when he wasn’t looking.
The free photo shoot Cowan paid for herself wasn’t cheap, but it satiated her creative spirit.
And this isn’t even her first go at it. The photographer also made headlines for her cake smash photos with a tiny Ellen DeGeneres.
Since sharing photos on Facebook and Instagram, people are asking for more TV-themed shoots.
“The Kelly Clarkson Show,” “Saturday Night Live” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” are among the requests.
“I actually kind of like the idea of keeping them model calls and just doing them for fun here and there,” she said. “It is kind of a nice way of giving back.”
Plus, Cowan can continue to honor her love of TV.
“Like a dedication cake smash,” she said.
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