- Born
- Birth nameRicki Pamela Lake
- Height5′ 4″ (1.63 m)
- Ricki Lake was born in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, surprisingly as a blond. She has one sister, who is one year younger than she, named Jennifer. Her father, Barry, is a pharmacist, and her mother, Jill, is a homemaker. The two currently reside in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ricki attended Hastings Elementary as a child, 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. During final exams in her freshman year, she received a call from her agent, telling her to audition for the lead in a John Waters film. Unsurprisingly, she landed the role as "Tracy Turnblad." Thus, Hairspray (1988) marked Ricki Lake's movie debut. She then went on to act in 15 more movies and had a recurring role in ABC's China Beach (1988), for one season. At one point in her life, she hit rock-bottom. Then, she decided to take charge of her life and make a dramatic change. She began eating right and exercising and soon lost over 125 pounds. In 1993, she was chosen, out of a hundred people, to host her own daytime talk show. After only three years, Ricki Lake (1992) became rated second in its time frame. Also, in 1993, she met the man of her dreams. At a Halloween party, she locked eyes with Rob Sussman, a political illustrator, who was to become her husband. It was love at first sight, on both sides. The two married in Las Vegas in March 1994 but divorced in 2004.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Lyna Sun <sun001@wcsub.ctstateu.edu>
- SpousesRoss Burningham(January 2, 2022 - present)Christian Evans(April 8, 2012 - October 14, 2015) (divorced)Rob Sussman(March 26, 1994 - November 10, 2004) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- ParentsBarry
- RelativesJennifer(Sibling)
- Sometimes presents her talk show barefooted.
- Despite her radical weight loss, Lake was required to lose an additional 20 lbs before filming for Mrs. Winterbourne (1996) could begin.
- Childhood friend of Debbie Gibson.
- Gave birth to her 1st child at age 28, a son Milo Sebastian Sussman on March 22, 1997. Child's father is her now ex-1st husband, Rob Sussman.
- Suffers from adult onset asthma.
- My goal in life was to be loved and adored by everyone.
- I never set out to be a role model for large women, I just do what I feel is right.
- I want (my children) to be in touch with the real world and to be able to see themselves as just two of the billions of people on this planet. There's a lot of charity work that we do as a family. This year they went to Malawi to build a house for a family that needed a home. Volunteer work is incredible for kids who are growing up rather privileged and need to really get a sense of the world, the big picture.
- Hairspray (1988) - $50,000
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