RickiLake : MyBlogHer Profile

A pop culture icon who has built a career on her candid, “straight talk” sensibility and her authentic, relatable nature, Ricki Lake has maintained a worldwide fan base that is a true cross-section of age and ethnicity.  Her approachable appeal has charmed international movie and television audiences for more than two decades, and she has managed to reinvent herself at every stage of her career.  As “Tracy Turnblad,” the perky heroine of the original John Waters’ film Hairspray, Lake made an acting debut that positioned her as an “entertainer to watch” in Hollywood.  Later, with a surprise turn as a talk show host, she met with unprecedented success and earned her place as a beloved media personality across the globe.

Her latest roles – surprisingly, an independent filmmaker, family advocate and author – have kept her uniquely charming perspective firmly in the public’s consciousness.  But, not one to forget her roots, Lake also continues to put her creative energy into all entertainment mediums, continuing her career as an actress in film and television.

Lake Executive Produced the critically acclaimed documentary The Business of Being Born, which debuted at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and examined natural childbirth in the United States.  In May 2009, she and the director of The Business of Being Born, Abby Epstein, released their first book, Your Best Birth.  The guide and its companion website, www.MyBestBirth.com, continue to be invaluable tools for expecting parents, designed to educate families about their birthing options.  In November 2011, Lake and Epstein released a four-part, follow-up DVD series, More Business of Being Born, offering invaluable information and featuring birth stories from some of Hollywood’s most notable celebrities.

Lake was a finalist and a fan favorite on the recently completed, 13^th season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars and is set to release her memoir, Never Say Never: Finding a Life That Fits, on April 17.   She resides in Los Angeles with her fiancé and is mother to sons Milo (14) and Owen (10). Lake will make will make her daytime television return in September with the premiere of her new talk show, The Ricki Lake Show.