While Kimberly Guilfoyle was surrounded by love growing up, she was especially attached to her mother, who was a huge inspiration in her life. “My mother was just everything to me, I loved her so much, I always wanted to be around her,” she revealed in an interview with Mediaite. “I loved how I saw people react to her.” Given that her mother was an educator who taught students with emotional challenges, Guilfoyle learned a lot about giving back at a young age.
Sadly, tragedy struck the little family when Guilfoyle was only 11 years old (via Irish Central): Her mother got sick with a terminal disease. “I had to go through a lot to be able to heal, going through her illness,” she continued, noting that her mother had battled Leukemia. We’re so sorry for your loss, Kimberly.
After that, it was just Guilfoyle, her father, and her younger brother, whom she helped raise despite being young herself. But even that was not without its merit, said Guilfoyle. “It made me a better mother, better person,” she added.