Photo: Mingle MediaTV / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Ricki Lake is one of those rare figures who genuinely succeeded at two different things. I love that she broke through as Tracy Turnblad in the original Hairspray, an exuberant performance that earned her an Independent Spirit nomination, then pivoted into one of the defining daytime talk shows of the 90s. Running that show internationally from 1993 to 2004, and later picking up a Daytime Emmy in 2013, tells me she understood her audience instinctively. Her work with John Waters gives her an offbeat credibility I appreciate. She always struck me as warm and unpretentious, and that's why the longevity makes sense.
Overview
Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1967) 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.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ricki Lake
- Name (Japanese)
- リッキー・レイク
- Reading
- りっきー・れいく
- Born
- September 21, 1968 (age 57)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Monkey
- Origin
- New York City, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- television presenter / film producer / television actor / film actor / television producer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Hastings High School
- University
- Ithaca College
Awards & achievements
- 1996 Aftonbladet TV Prize
- 2013 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Hairspray | — | |
| Notable work | Cry-Baby | — | |
| Notable work | Ricki Lake (1993 talk show) | — | |
| Notable work | Dancing with the Stars | — | |
| Notable work | The Ricki Lake Show | — |
6. Links
Television presenter — see all → · Film producer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.