- Born
- Birth nameRicki Pamela Lake
- Height1.63 m
- Ricki Lake was born in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York as a blonde. She has one sister, Jennifer who is one year her junior. Their father Barry is a pharmacist and their mother Jill is a homemaker; the two currently reside in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ricki attended Hastings Elementary, went on to Farragut Middle, then attended Hasting High for two years.
At the end of her sophomore year, Ricki transferred to the Professional Children's School in New York City to focus on perfecting her acting craft. She had also starting singing professionally at age 9, in cabarets and clubs. After finishing high school, Ricki attended Ithaca College for one year; during her final exams, 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 went on to act in 15 more movies, and she had a recurring role in ABC's China Beach (1988) for one season.
At one point in her life, she hit rock-bottom, then decided to take charge of her life and make a dramatic change. She began to eat right and exercise, and soon she had lost 125 pounds.
In 1993 Ricki was chosen out of 100 people to host her own daytime talk show, and 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.
- Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 32, a son Owen Tyler Sussman on June 18, 2001. Child's father is her now ex-1st husband, Rob Sussman.
- 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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