Ricki Lake

**Ricki Pamela Lake** (born September 21, 1968 in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY) is an American actress, producer, and Emmy Award Winning Talk Show Host. She is best known for her starring role as Tracy Turnblad in the original *Hairspray*, her documentary film *The Business of Being Born*, and her long-running talk show which was broadcast internationally from 1993–2004.

## Early Life

Born in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York to parents Barry, a pharmacist and Jill, a homemaker. But Lake was largely brought up by her paternal grandmother, Sylvia Lake, until her death from breast cancer in 1978.

As a child, Ricki attended Hastings Elementary School, then she went on to Farragut Middle, and then attended Hastings High, for two years. At the end of her sophomore year, she transferred to the Professional Children's School, in New York, to focus on perfecting her craft as an actress. Also, Ricki began singing professionally at the age of nine, in cabarets and clubs. After finishing high school, she attended Ithaca College for one year.

## Acting

During final exams in her freshman year, Lake received a call from her agent, telling her to audition for the lead in a John Waters film, which would become a cult-classic. The name of the film was *Hairspray* and Ricki landed the role of the lead character Tracy Turnblad.
The movie only a moderate success upon its initial theatrical release, earning a modest gross of $8 million. However, it managed to attract a larger audience on home video in the early 1990s and became a cult classic. Most critics praised the film, although some were displeased with the overall campiness.

After the success of *Hairspray*, Lake went on to land other roles in movies such as *Cry-Baby* with Johnny Depp and Susan Tyrell, *Cecil B. Demented*with Melanie Griffith and Stephen Dorff, and *Serial Mom* with Kathleen Turner and Sam Waterston.

She starred opposite Shirley MacLaine and Brendan Fraser in the 1996 film *Mrs. Winterbourne*. The movie received generally negative reviews and only grossing $10,082.005 at the box office, based on a $25 million budget.

## Talk Show Career

Ricki's life would change tremendously after entering the Talk Show world.
She landed her own self-titled talk show *Ricki Lake*, debuting on September 13, 1993. The show specialized in topics involving invited guests and incorporated questions and comments from a studio audience.

Lake made television history, at 24 years of age, she became the youngest person to host a national televised talk show. Unlike the other talk show giants such as Oprah Winfrey, Phil Donahue, and Montel Williams, Ricki's primary audiences was aimed at teenagers, young adults, college students, and urban viewers rather than the 25+ audience that advertisers were catering to, plus it was less sensational and tame compared to the other programs.

Her show also was known for tackling serious issues that many everyday people face daily such as parenting skills, racism & prejudice, discrimination against gays & lesbians, and social issues. As well as lighter topics such as contests, celebrity guests, and granting viewers' personal wishes.

In 1994, the show was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host, but lost to *The Oprah Winfrey Show*. However, the show has won other awards including the Gracie Allen Award, PRISM Certificates & Commendations.

After enjoying an 11 year run, Ricki decided not to continue with the show as she wanted to spend more time with her family and having relocated to Los Angeles as the final episode aired on May 25, 2004 with reruns airing until that August.

## *Gameshow Marathon*

Two years after ending her talk show, Ricki made a TV comeback. She hosted the short-lived series *Gameshow Marathon* for CBS chronicling classic game shows such as *The Price is Right*, *Let's Make a Deal*, *Beat the Clock*, *Press Your Luck*, *Match Game*, *Family Feud*, and Card Sharks. The series ran from May 31 to June 29, 2006.

## Talk Show Comeback

On November 10, 2010, Lake appeared alongside fellow talk show greats Phil Donahue, Sally Jessy Raphael, Geraldo Rivera, and Montel Williams on *The Oprah Winfrey Show*, marking the first time these former Talk Show Hosts ever appeared together on one show since their programs left the air.

In March 2011, reports have stated that three television studios, Twentieth Television, Universal Media Studios and CBS Television Distribution, were interested in bringing Lake back to the talk-show realm after Ricki made appearances on various programs expressing a desire to return to the genre.

On April 20, 2011, she signed with Twentieth Television to develop *The Ricki Lake Show*, debuting on September 10, 2012. The new program has a more Oprah-like format than that of her former talk show. The show lasted only one season, despite positive reviews from critics, the network announced the show was not renewed for a second season as the final episode aried on June 19, 2013. Despite only one season on the air, Ricki won the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host at the 2013 Daytime Emmy Awards.

## Other Appearances

In October 2007, Ricki appeared in the Lifetime TV movie *Matters of Life and Dating* as well as a cameo in the 2007 film Hairspray as a talent agent and also sang "Mama I'm A Big Girl Now" with Nikki Blonsky and Marissa Jaret Winokur for the film's end credits.

In 2011, Ricki competed on the 13th 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 also by losing 20 pounds due to her dancing. After advancing to the finals, Lake finished in third place, losing to TV personality Rob Kardashian and actor and Army veteran J. R. Martinez, despite having higher scores than both.

## Personal Life

Lake met illustrator-bartender Rob Sussman in October 1993, on Halloween. They got married in a lavish ceremony Las Vegas in March 1994. They had two sons, Milo Sebastian Sussman (born August 22, 1997) and Owen Tyler Sussman (born June 18, 2001).

Lake and Sussman separated in August 2003 and finalized their divorce in 2005. Lake began dating Christian Evans in the summer of 2009, they became engaged in August 2011 and married on April 8, 2012 and they divorced sometime in 2014.