Biography for
Ricki Lake More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

21 September 1968, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, USA

Birth Name

Ricki Pamela Lake

Height

5' 4" (1.63 m)

Mini Biography

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 YCork, 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" (1993) 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>

Spouse

Rob Sussman

(26 March 1994 - 10 November 2004) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia

She has a son, Milo Sebastian Sussman [b. March 22, 1997]

Suffers from adult onset asthma.

Childhood friend of Deborah Gibson.

Gave birth to son Owen Tyler Sussman in the bathtub of her New York home. The newborn was delivered by a midwife. Owen weighed in at 8 lbs. 7 oz. [18 June 2001]

Is a vegetarian.

Despite her radical weight loss, Lake was required to lose an additional 20 lbs before filming for Mrs. Winterbourne (1996) could begin.

Sometimes presents her talk show barefooted.

Ricki was in the same elementary and middle-school class in Hastings-on-Hudson as Roger Howarth. They knew each other.

Personal Quotes

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.

Salary

Hairspray (1988)

$50,000