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Ricki Lake

Ricki Lake

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.

Personal information

Birthday

1968-09-21

Birth Place

Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, USA

Movies and TV shows :

poster

25 Words or Less

2018

6.7

TV
A Dirty Shame

A Dirty Shame

2004

5.3

Movie
A Family Again

A Family Again

1988

0.0

Movie
Babycakes

Babycakes

1989

7.0

Movie
Based on an Untrue Story

Based on an Untrue Story

1993

4.2

Movie
Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

1992

5.6

Movie
Cabin Boy

Cabin Boy

1994

5.1

Movie
Cecil B. Demented

Cecil B. Demented

2000

6.3

Movie
poster

Celebrity Family Feud

2015

7.8

TV
poster

Celebrity Juice

2008

6.6

TV
poster

China Beach

1988

7.3

TV
Cookie

Cookie

1989

5.2

Movie
poster

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

2015

6.8

TV
Cry-Baby

Cry-Baby

1990

6.5

Movie
poster

Dancing with the Stars

2005

6.1

TV
poster

Drop Dead Diva

2009

7.7

TV
poster

Drop the Mic

2017

6.3

TV
poster

Easy to Assemble

2008

5.0

TV
Embrace

Embrace

2016

6.6

Movie
poster

Gameshow Marathon

2006

0.0

TV
Gemini

Gemini

2017

5.4

Movie
poster

Gravedale High

1990

6.0

TV
Hairspray

Hairspray

2007

6.7

Movie
Hairspray

Hairspray

1988

6.8

Movie
Hairspray Live!

Hairspray Live!

2016

7.3

Movie
poster

Hollywood Squares

1998

6.5

TV
I Am Divine

I Am Divine

2013

7.4

Movie
Inside Monkey Zetterland

Inside Monkey Zetterland

1992

2.9

Movie
poster

Intimate Portrait

1993

4.5

TV
It Came from... Baltimore!!

It Came from... Baltimore!!

2005

7.2

Movie
Jackie's Back!

Jackie's Back!

1999

7.8

Movie
poster

Kate & Allie

1984

5.8

TV
poster

King of the Hill

1997

7.3

TV
Last Exit to Brooklyn

Last Exit to Brooklyn

1989

6.4

Movie
poster

Late Show with David Letterman

1993

6.3

TV
poster

Live from the Other Side with Tyler Henry

2024

6.0

TV
poster

LIVE with Kelly and Mark

1988

5.2

TV
Loving Leah

Loving Leah

2009

7.0

Movie
Matters of Life & Dating

Matters of Life & Dating

2007

5.0

Movie
Moon Manor

Moon Manor

2022

6.8

Movie
More Business of Being Born

More Business of Being Born

2011

0.0

Movie
Mrs. Winterbourne

Mrs. Winterbourne

1996

7.2

Movie
Murder She Purred: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery

Murder She Purred: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery

1998

7.7

Movie
Park

Park

2006

4.9

Movie
poster

Pictionary

2022

3.5

TV
poster

Ricki Lake

1993

4.2

TV
poster

RuPaul

2019

4.8

TV
Serial Mom

Serial Mom

1994

6.7

Movie
poster

Sherri

2022

4.2

TV
Skinner

Skinner

1993

4.5

Movie
poster

Stars in the House

2020

0.0

TV
poster

Tamron Hall

2019

5.1

TV
The Business of Being Born

The Business of Being Born

2008

6.6

Movie
The Chase

The Chase

1991

3.0

Movie
poster

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

2003

5.8

TV
The In Crowd

The In Crowd

1988

6.0

Movie
poster

The Jenny Jones Show

1991

0.0

TV
poster

The King of Queens

1998

7.1

TV
poster

The Masked Singer

2019

7.8

TV
The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie

The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie

2005

5.1

Movie
poster

The Reichen Show

2005

4.8

TV
poster

The Ricki Lake Show

2012

2.0

TV
poster

The Rosie O'Donnell Show

1996

3.5

TV
poster

The View

1997

4.4

TV
poster

The Wheel

2022

3.5

TV
poster

Through the Keyhole

2013

6.0

TV
Under the Christmas Tree

Under the Christmas Tree

2021

5.9

Movie
poster

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

2009

5.0

TV
Where the Day Takes You

Where the Day Takes You

1992

6.1

Movie
poster

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

2013

7.7

TV
Working Girl

Working Girl

1988

6.6

Movie