Kinga Philipps (born August 16, 1976) is a Polish-American actress and TV host. She has hosted for a variety of networks including: USA, AMC, Food Network, Current TV, Fox Sports and SyFy. In her acting career she has guest starred on a number of television shows including: The West Wing, Cold Case, According to Jim, Eleventh Hour, NCIS LA, Perception and Scandal. She has also appeared in several films including: Tomcats and Torque. She can be seen as Austin Powers's mother in the 2002 film Austin Powers in Goldmember where, in a flashback, she and an infant Powers are blown up by enemy agents in the family car.
Philipps was one of the original hosts of Current TV, the network famous for being started by Al Gore. She originally hosted Google Current, a daily comedic look at what the world is searching for online. She then went on to host Yahoo Current Driver and Yahoo Current Traveler, two shows that resulted from Current's partnership with Yahoo. Additionally Philipps covered hard news for Current's Vanguard division and did various in studio coverage for the network. When Current won an Emmy in 2007 for Best Interactive Television Service, Philipps covered the event with a pod titled "Kinga Goes to the Emmys."
In 2011 Philipps joined the Syfy Network on their new show Legend Quest. Legend Quest is a fast-paced action-adventure series, which follows symbologist and archeological explorer Ashley Cowie as he travels the world with his field producer Kinga Philipps and their team in search of some of history's greatest and most mysterious artifacts.
On July 4th, 2012 the National Geographic series America's Lost Treasures premiered hosted by Kinga Philipps and Curt Doussett. The 10 part series developed by Thom Beers and Original Productions travels the country looking for hidden links to America’s past.
Philipps was born Kinga Szpakiewicz in Warsaw, Poland, and changed her name to "Philipps" as inspired by her favorite verse of the Bible, Philippians 4:13. Philipps grew up in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and is a graduate of Oklahoma State University.