• American actress and producer Ricki Lake hosted her own talk show called the Ricki Lake Show. She also played Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 motion picture Hairspray. Lake was nominated in 1989 for an Independent Spirit Award for "Best Female Lead" for her role in Hairspray. She was also nominated for an Emmy in 1994 for "Outstanding Talk Show Host."

• 1. Full name: Ricki Pamela Lake
  2. Born: September 21, 1968
  3. Origin: Hastings on Hudson, New York
  4. Lost 125 pounds in 2007
  5. Attended Ithaca College for one year
  6. Produced The Business Of Being Born, released in 2008
  7. Reported host for Charm School 3 on VH1

• Career

  Not only hosting her own talk show for 11 seasons, Lake has also appeared in a number of films including Cabin Boy, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Mrs. Winterbourne and Cry Baby. She also made a cameo appearance in the 2008 remake of Hairspray, starring Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken and Amanda Bynes.

• Quotes

  "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."

  "We are thrilled to have Ricki spearheading this new take on Charm School. Our audience knows her, loves her and respects her. And Ricki certainly knows a thing or two about taking big, loud characters and bringing them to a place of new emotional understanding."—Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President, Original Programming and Production, VH1VH1 Blog: Ricki Lake to Head Third Installment of Charm School (February 5, 2009)

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