Caramel Corn

Name
Ricki Lake

Known For
Acting

Birthday
1968-09-21 (58 years old)

Place of Birth
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, USA

Biography

Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American television host and actress. She is known for her lead role as Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 film Hairspray, for which she received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.

She is also known for her talk show, Ricki Lake, which was broadcast internationally from September 1993 until May 2004. When the show debuted, she was 24 and credited as being the youngest person to host a syndicated talk show at the time. In late 2012, Lake began hosting a second syndicated talk show, The Ricki Lake Show. The series was canceled in 2013 after a single season, but Lake won her first Daytime Emmy Award for the project.

She also starred in other Waters films including Cry-Baby, Cecil B. Demented, and Serial Mom. She starred in Mrs. Winterbourne, 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 also had a cameo in the 2007 film Hairspray as a talent agent and sang "Mama I'm A Big Girl Now" with Nikki Blonsky and Marissa Jaret Winokur for the film's end credits.

In 2008, her documentary about home birth and midwifery, The Business of Being Born, was released. She also jointly wrote a book, Your Best Birth, on the world of natural childbirth and birthing options, along with Abby Epstein and Jacques Moritz, which was published in 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.

She 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, marking the first time those hosts appeared together on one show since their respective programs left the air.

She 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. In October 2019, she began competing in The X Factor: Celebrity.

In March 2018, at SXSW, Lake and Epstein premiered their documentary film Weed the People, examining the use of cannabis as medicine and its status as a Schedule I prohibited drug in the United States. The film focused in particular on the use of cannabis in the treatment of pediatric cancer.

Known For

Movies

Tv Shows

1988 The In Crowd as Dancer (uncredited)
1988 A Family Again as Carmen
1994 Serial Mom as Misty Sutphin
2021 Under the Christmas Tree as Marie
1993 Based on an Untrue Story as Velour Gnack
1994 Cabin Boy as Figurehead
1990 Cry-Baby as Pepper Walker
1996 Mrs. Winterbourne as Connie Doyle
2000 Cecil B. Demented as Libby
1988 Working Girl as Bridesmaid
1989 Last Exit to Brooklyn as Donna
1992 Where the Day Takes You as Brenda
2008 The Business of Being Born as Self
1998 Murder She Purred: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery as Mary Minor 'Harry' Haristeen
1993 Skinner as Kerry Tate
1989 Cookie as Pia
2007 Matters of Life & Dating as Linda Dackman
2014 I Am Divine as Self
1992 Inside Monkey Zetterland as Bella the Stalker
1989 Babycakes as Grace
2005 It Came from... Baltimore!! as Self
2009 Loving Leah as Rabbi Gerry
1991 The Chase as Tammie
2022 Moon Manor as Self
2011 More Business of Being Born as Host
1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Charlotte
2016 Embrace as Self
2017 Gemini as Vanessa
2016 Hairspray Live! as Pinkette
2007 Hairspray as Talent Agent
2005 The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie as Ricki Lake
2006 Park as Peggy
2004 A Dirty Shame as Self
1988 Hairspray as Tracy Turnblad
1999 Jackie's Back! as Ricki Lake
Soon Serial Mom: Surreal Moments as Self
2007 Hairspray: Playing Tracy as Self
2007 The Roots of 'Hairspray' as Self
2007 Hairspray: The Search for Tracy Turnblad as Self
Soon New Line: Independent Legacies as Self (archive footage)

1984 Kate & Allie ( 1 episode )
1993 Ricki Lake ( 24 episodes )
1988 China Beach ( 22 episodes ) as Holly Pelegrino
1997 King of the Hill ( 1 episode ) as Lila (voice)
2019 Tamron Hall ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
1998 The King of Queens ( 6 episodes ) as Stephanie Heffernan
1990 Gravedale High ( 13 episodes ) as Cleofatra (voice)
1993 Late Show with David Letterman ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
2019 The Masked Singer ( 1 episode ) as Raven (archive footage)
2008 Easy to Assemble ( 1 episode )
2012 The Ricki Lake Show ( 260 episodes )
2013 Whose Line Is It Anyway? ( 1 episode ) as Self
1997 The View ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
2006 Gameshow Marathon ( 7 episodes ) as Hostess
2015 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ( 1 episode ) as Dream Ghost #1
2005 Dancing with the Stars ( 20 episodes ) as Self - Contestant
2009 Drop Dead Diva ( 1 episode ) as Susan Semler
2022 Sherri ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
2017 Drop the Mic ( 1 episode ) as Self
2009 Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen ( 8 episodes ) as Self - Guest
1988 LIVE with Kelly and Mark ( 2 episodes )
2005 The Reichen Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
1993 Intimate Portrait ( 1 episode ) as Self
1996 The Rosie O'Donnell Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
2003 The Ellen DeGeneres Show ( 2 episodes ) as Self
2008 Celebrity Juice ( 2 episodes ) as Self
1997 The View ( 1 episode ) as Self
1991 The Jenny Jones Show ( 1 episode )
1998 Hollywood Squares ( 5 episodes ) as Self - Panelist
2019 RuPaul ( 1 episode ) as Self
2020 Stars in the House ( 1 episode ) as Self - Special Guest
2022 The Wheel ( 1 episode ) as Self - Expert
1997 The View ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest Co-Host
2018 25 Words or Less ( 6 episodes ) as Self
2015 Celebrity Family Feud ( 1 episode ) as Self
2013 Through the Keyhole ( 1 episode ) as Self
2022 Pictionary ( 2 episodes )
2024 Live from the Other Side with Tyler Henry ( 1 episode ) as Self
1994 The Critic ( 1 episode ) as Ricki Lake (voice)
1998 The Entertainment Biz ( 1 episode ) as Self
1981 Entertainment Tonight ( 1 episode )
1991 The Idiot Box ( 7 episodes ) as Daughter
2009 Charm School with Ricki Lake ( 11 episodes ) as Self - Headmistress
2019 The Masked Singer ( 3 episodes ) as Self - Raven
1990 The Word ( 1 episode )

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