Gifford's paternal grandfather was of Russian Jewish descent and her paternal grandmother was of Native American ancestry. Her mother was a relative of Rudyard Kipling, was of French Canadian, English and German descent and was raised in a snake handler family. After seeing the Billy Graham produced film, "The Restless Ones" at age 12, Gifford became a born-again Christian. She told Larry King, "I was raised with many Jewish traditions and raised to be very grateful for my Jewish heritage." Her brother, Rev. David Paul Epstein, is an evangelical Baptist preacher and pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in New York City.