Ricki Lake

Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American television host and actress. She gained recognition for her lead role as Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 film Hairspray, earning a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. Lake is best known for her talk show, Ricki Lake, which aired from September 1993 to May 2004, making her the youngest person to host a syndicated talk show at the time. In 2012, she began hosting a second talk show, The Ricki Lake Show, which ran for one season and earned her a Daytime Emmy Award. Born in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, Lake was raised in a secular Jewish family and attended Ithaca College for one year.