Ricki Lake

Ricki Lake
Lake in May 2015
Born	Ricki Pamela Lake (1968-09-21) September 21, 1968 (age 48) Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, television host, producer
Years active	1987–present
Spouse(s)	Rob Sussman (m. 1994–2004) Christian Evans (m. 2012)
Children	2

Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and Emmy Award-winning television presenter. She is best known for her talk show which was broadcast internationally 1993–2004. In autumn 2012, Lake embarked on a second syndicated talk show project, which aired on weekdays. In 2013 the series was cancelled after one season but won Lake her first aforementioned Emmy Award.

Lake was born to Barry (a pharmacist) and Jill (a homemaker) Lake, both are Ashkenazi Jews, in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, but was largely brought up by her paternal grandmother, Sylvia Lake, until Sylvia's death from breast cancer in 1978. Lake attended Ithaca College for one year.

Lake made her film debut as Tracy Turnblad, the lead character in John Waters' 1988 cult-classic Hairspray. Lake also starred in other Waters films including Cry-Baby (with Johnny Depp and Susan Tyrrell), Cecil B. Demented (with Melanie Griffith and Stephen Dorff), and Serial Mom (with Kathleen Turner and Sam Waterston). She starred in Mrs. Winterbourne with Shirley MacLaine and Brendan Fraser, Cabin Boy, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Cookie, and Inside Monkey Zetterland.