Ricki Lake

Ricki Pamela Lake was born on September 21, 1968, in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, to Jill, a homemaker, and Barry Lake, a pharmacist. She was raised largely by her paternal grandmother, Sylvia Lake, until Sylvia's death in 1978. Lake attended Ithaca College for one year before beginning her professional career.

Lake entered the entertainment industry through film, making her debut as Tracy Turnblad, the lead character in director John Waters' 1988 cult film Hairspray. The role earned her a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. She went on to appear in additional Waters projects, including Serial Mom alongside Kathleen Turner and Sam Waterston, Cry-Baby with Johnny Depp and Susan Tyrrell, and Cecil B. Demented with Melanie Griffith and Stephen Dorff. Her other film credits include Mrs. Winterbourne with Shirley MacLaine and Brendan Fraser, Cabin Boy, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Cookie, and Inside Monkey Zetterland.

On television, Lake joined the cast of the Vietnam War drama China Beach for its third season, playing Red Cross volunteer Holly "the Donut Dolly" Pelegrino. She held a recurring role on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens as Doug's sister Stephanie, and guest-starred on Drop Dead Diva and provided a voice on King of the Hill. She also starred in the television movie Baby Cakes and appeared in the CBS television special Loving Leah.

Lake's Broadway career includes a 2002 appearance in Funny Girl. Her connection to the Hairspray franchise extended to the stage as well: when the 2007 film remake of Hairspray was released, Lake appeared in a cameo as a talent agent and joined Nikki Blonsky and Marissa Jaret Winokur — who had played Tracy Turnblad in the film and the Broadway musical, respectively — to record "Mama I'm a Big Girl Now" for the film's end credits. She also reunited with original Hairspray co-star Debbie Harry for the 2008 film Hotel Gramercy Park, and made a cameo in the 2016 television musical Hairspray Live!

Lake became widely recognized as a television host when her first daytime talk show, Ricki Lake, debuted in syndication on September 13, 1993. At 24, she was credited as the youngest person to host a syndicated talk show at the time. The program ran until May 25, 2004, broadcasting internationally throughout its run. In late 2012, Lake launched a second syndicated talk show, The Ricki Lake Show, which premiered in September 2012 and was cancelled after one season. Despite its short run, the show earned Lake the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host in 2013.

Beyond talk shows, Lake hosted the 2006 CBS limited series Gameshow Marathon, which re-created classic game shows with celebrity contestants, and signed a development deal with production company FremantleMedia. She succeeded Sharon Osbourne as host of VH1's Charm School for its third season, premiering May 11, 2009. Lake also competed on the 13th season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with three-time champion Derek Hough, and finished in third place behind Rob Kardashian and J.R. Martinez.

Lake co-produced the documentary The Business of Being Born, released in limited markets on January 18, 2008, which examined home birth and midwifery and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. She co-wrote a companion book on natural childbirth and birthing options, Your Best Birth, with Abby Epstein and Jacques Moritz, published by Wellness Central on May 1, 2009. Lake and Epstein later co-produced a second documentary, Weed the People, which premiered at SXSW in March 2018 and examined the use of cannabis in treating pediatric cancer.

In February 2019, Lake was revealed to be the "Raven" on the first season of Fox's The Masked Singer, having performed songs including "Rainbow" by Kesha, "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga, and "Brave" by Sara Bareilles. In October 2019, she competed on The X Factor: Celebrity.