Ricki Lake

Pop culture icon Ricki Lake is a multi-hyphenate entertainer with storytelling at her core. Whether through acting, producing, writing, dancing, or simply sharing her own experiences, Ricki's passionate heart and signature transparency have connected her to fans and cemented her place in the cultural zeitgeist for almost four decades.

The world first met Ricki in 1988 as Tracy Turnblad in John Waters' beloved film Hairspray. She went on to appear in films such as Cry-Baby, Cecil B. Demented, Serial Mom, Mrs. Winterbourne and Last Exit to Brooklyn, and starred on television in China Beach and King of Queens. At the age of twenty-four, Ricki became the youngest talk show host in history; for 11 years her long-running show changed daytime television forever, and she won an Emmy for Best Talk Show Host for the reboot of The Ricki Lake Show. Ricki now hosts the podcast Raised By Ricki.

In her book Never Say Never: Finding a Life That Fits, Ricki showed how her life in the spotlight could offer wisdom to anyone who has ever struggled in their own skin. Her legacy, and perhaps her greatest love, is her role as independent filmmaker: her award-winning documentary The Business of Being Born changed the way women across America give birth, and she has since released The Business of Birth Control and Weed the People. Ricki lives in Malibu with her husband, Ross, and rescue pup, Dolly.