Ricki Lake Biography

From the age of nine, Ricki was appearing in clubs and cabarets as a singer. At the end of her Sophomore year, she transfered from her conventional High School to attend The Professional Children's School, in New York City, to concentrate on acting.

After High School, Ricki attended Ithaca College for one year, before auditioning for John Waters. He cast her in his next film, 'Hairspray', as Tracy Turnblad, and began a relationship that has seen her appear as part of his company of actors in several films such as 'Cry-Baby', 'Serial Mom' and 'Cecil B. DeMented'.

Despite working successfully from 1988 to 1992 as an actress, both in film and on TV, her personal life, and the resultant weight gain, restricted the choice of parts available to her. Feeling that she had reached a critical point in her career and her life, Ricki decided upon drastic action.

In a little over a year, the actress lost over 125 pounds in weight' and emerged with a new career - that of a TV talk show host. 'The Ricki Lake Show' debuted in 1993 and is still on the air. Blending the shocking revelations of the 'Jerry Springer Show' with the emotional empathy of 'Oprah' proved to be a successful formula, and the programme was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in its second year of production.

The success of the talk show has allowed Ricki to make occasional returns to film acting, most noteably in 'Mrs. Winterbourne', with Shirley MacLaine and Brendan Fraser. It has also granted her a platform for her strong beliefs on vegetarianism and animal rights.

Ricki married the political illustrator, Rob Sussman, in March 1994 and they have two children. The couple recently filed for divorce.