Ricki Lake Biography

Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and Emmy Award winning television host. She is best known for her talk show which was broadcast internationally 1993-2004. In autumn 2012, Lake embarked on a second syndicated talk show endeavor airing on weekdays.

Early life

Lake was born to Barry (a pharmacist) and Jill (a housewife) Lake, in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York but was largely reared by her paternal grandmother, Sylvia Lake, until the latter's death from breast cancer in 1978. Ricki Lake attended Ithaca College and the Professional Children's School.

Career

Acting

Lake made her film debut as Tracy Turnblad, the lead character in John Waters' 1988 cult-classic Hairspray. Lake also starred in other Waters films including Cry-Baby (with Johnny Depp and Susan Tyrrell), Cecil B. Demented (with Melanie Griffith and Stephen Dorff), and Serial Mom (with Kathleen Turner and Sam Waterston). She starred in Mrs. Winterbourne with Shirley MacLaine and Brendan Fraser, Cabin Boy, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Cookie, and Inside Monkey Zetterland.

She joined the cast of the Vietnam War drama series China Beach as a Red Cross volunteer, Holly "the Donut Dolly" Pelegrino, for the show's third season. She also had a recurring role on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens as Doug's sister Stephanie. She guest-starred on television series including Drop Dead Diva and a voice role on King of the Hill, and starred in the television movie Baby Cakes. She has a cameo appearance in the 2007 remake of the original cult-classic Hairspray as a William Morris talent agent, and teamed up with star Nikki Blonsky, who had played the role of Tracy Turnblad in the 2007 movie musical remake, and Marissa Jaret Winokur, who had played the role of Tracy Turnblad in the Broadway musical based on the original 1988 film, to record "Mama I'm a Big Girl Now" for the soundtrack, which is played at the film's end credits. She later reunited with original Hairspray co-star Deborah Harry for the film Hotel Gramercy Park which was released in 2008. Lake is currently filming her next feature film titled "Angel" to be released in theaters in 2012.

Talk shows

Ricki Lake was Lake's first daytime talk show. The wildly successful show specialized in topics involving invited guests and incorporated questions and comments from a studio audience.

The show debuted in syndication on September 13, 1993 and ended first-run episodes on May 25, 2004. In 2000, Lake told Rosie O'Donnell in an interview she had signed on for four additional years. Although Sony Pictures Television had many stations contracted through the 2004-2005 season, Lake decided to end the show in August 2004, citing (among other things) a desire to spend time with her family. She moved from Los Angeles to New York to tape the 11th season of the show, then returned to California when taping was complete. Lake returned to the talk show platform when she hosted a second talk show, premiering in September 2012.

2006-2010: Other projects

After her talk show had wrapped production on its final season, Lake went on to host the 2006 CBS limited series Gameshow Marathon, which re-created classic game shows with celebrity contestants. She also signed a development deal with Gameshow Marathon production company FremantleMedia for other ventures, including creating and producing future programs and projects. In October 2007, Lake appeared in the Lifetime TV movie Matters of Life and Dating. Lake also had a cameo in the 2007 film Hairspray as a Talent Agent, in addition she also sang "Mama I'm A Big Girl Now" with Nikki Blonsky and Marissa Jaret Winokur for the film's end credits.

The Business of Being Born, Lake's documentary about home birth and midwifery, was released in limited markets on January 18, 2008. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and Red Envelope released the film in New York, L.A. and San Francisco in October and it also screened in Australia. The Business of Being Born included footage and details of Lake's own "life-changing" home-birthing experience and followed a midwife going about her work. Tribeca called it "The Inconvenient Truth of Childbirth." Lake described it as her life's work for the last three years and expressed hopes that the film educated and empowered people to really know their choices in childbirth.

She performed in a CBS television special, Loving Leah in January of that year. Lake also jointly wrote a book on the world of natural childbirth and birthing options, along with Abby Epstein and Jacques Moritz, Your Best Birth, which was published by Wellness Central on May 1, 2009. Lake and Epstein also launched MyBestBirth.com, an online social network, powered by Ning, intended to allow parents and medical professionals to dialogue about varying birthing options and resources.

Lake returned to television on May 11, 2009, succeeding Sharon Osbourne as host for the third season of VH1's Charm School. On November 10, 2010, Lake joined fellow talkers Phil Donahue, Sally Jessy Raphael, Geraldo Rivera, and Montel Williams as guests of Oprah Winfrey on The Oprah Winfrey Show. This marked the first time these hosts ever appeared together on one show since their programs left the air.

2011-present

In March 2011 it was reported that three television studios, Twentieth Television, Universal Media Studios and CBS Television Distribution, were interested in bringing Lake back to the talk show realm in 2012. This after Lake began appearing on various programs in which she expressed a desire to return to the genre.

Lake competed on the thirteenth season of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with three-time champion Derek Hough and cited Kirstie Alley's appearance as an inspiration to do the show. Lake achieved tremendous success on the show, not only by consistently scoring high, but she also lost 20 pounds due to her dancing. After making the finals, Lake was announced as the contestant in third place, losing to TV personality Rob Kardashian and actor and Army veteran J. R. Martinez, despite having higher scores than both.

On April 20, 2011, Lake signed with Twentieth Television to develop The Ricki Lake Show, which premiered in September 2012. The new program has a more "Oprah"-like format than that of her former talk show. It was cancelled after one season. Despite that, Ricki won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host in 2013.

Personal life

Lake married illustrator/bartender Rob Sussman in Las Vegas in March 1994. They have two sons: Milo Sebastian Sussman (born March 1997), and Owen Tyler Sussman (born June 2001). Lake and Sussman separated in August 2003, and divorced in 2005. Lake began dating Christian Evans in the summer of 2009. They became engaged in August 2011, and married on April 8, 2012.

In early 2007, Lake pursued a "new routine" resulting in 24 pounds of weight loss, taking her down to 120 pounds (55 kg). In the early 1990s her weight peaked at 260 pounds (122 kg). In November 2007, Lake cited sexual abuse as a child as a reason for her problems with obesity.

On September 18, 2010, Lake's rented Malibu home was destroyed by fire. She and her sons escaped without injury.

On January 15, 2011, Lake finished in sixth place in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Luxury Ladies Poker Event, collecting $5,587 of the prizepool.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1988	Hairspray	Tracy Turnblad
1988	The In Crowd	Dancer	Uncredited
1988	Working Girl	Bridesmaid
1989	Cookie	Pia
1989	Baby Cakes	Grace
1989	Last Exit to Brooklyn	Donna
1990	Cry-Baby	Pepper Walker
1992	Where the Day Takes You	Brenda
1992	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Charlotte	Uncredited
1992	Inside Monkey Zetterland	Bella the Stalker
1993	Skinner	Kerry Tate
1994	Cabin Boy	Figurehead
1994	Serial Mom	Misty Sutphin
1996	Mrs. Winterbourne	Connie Doyle/Patricia Winterbourne
2000	Cecil B. Demented	Libby
2004	A Dirty Shame	Herself	Caméo
2006	Park	Peggy
2007	Hairspray	Talent agent
2008	The Business of Being Born	"	Executive producer

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Kate & Allie	Teri	1 episode
1988	ABC Afterschool Special	Carmen	1 episode
1989	Baby Cakes	Grace	Television movie
1989	Starting Now	Ricki Ross	Television series pilot
1989-1990	China Beach	Holly Pelegrino	13 episodes
1990	Gravedale High	Cleofatra (Voice)	Unknown episodes
1991	The Chase	Tammie	Television movie
1991	Riders in the Sky	Broadway Baby	1 episode
1992	Based on an Untrue Story	Velour	Television movie
1993-2004	Ricki Lake	Host	First syndicated talk show
1998	Murder She Purred: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery	Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen	Television movie
2000-2001	The King of Queens	Stephanie Heffernan	6 episodes
2004	Higglytown Heroes	Carpenter Hero (Voice)	1 episode
2006	King of the Hill	Lila (Voice)	1 episode
2007	Matters of Life and Dating	Linda	Television movie Executive producer
2009	Loving Leah	Rabbi Gerry	Television movie Co-executive producer
2009	Charm School with Ricki Lake	Head-mistress	10 episodes
2010	Drop Dead Diva	Susan Semler	1 episode
2010	The Oprah Winfrey Show	Herself	Guest, "Talk Show Reunion"
2011	Dancing with the Stars	Herself/Contestant	Season 13/Third Place
2012-2013	The Ricki Lake Show	Host	Second syndicated talk show

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Film or series
2013	Daytime Emmy Awards	'Won	Outstanding Talk Show Host	The Ricki Lake Show
1994	Daytime Emmy Awards	Nominated	Outstanding Talk Show Host	Ricki Lake
1989	Independent Spirit Award		Best Female Lead	Hairspray