Ricki Lake’s life story reads like the headlines from some of the more dramatic episodes of her iconic ’90s talk show. She had to deal with more than the average woman has to deal with, but we had no idea what was going on behind closed doors when we watched her every day on her famous talk show, or when we saw her on the big screen in the movie Hairspray.
Photo by Kobal, Shutterstock / MovieStillDB. Copyrights: New Line Cinema / Photo by S_Bukley, Shutterstock / Instagram, @rickilake
Lake’s career has been unorthodox, to say the least. From a curious student to getting on stage and becoming a household name, Ricki Lake’s career has been as eventful as her personal life. But she kept an infectious grin while having to bear it – from the struggles with her weight to the toxic criticism to her lifelong battle with hair loss, and worst of all, the tragic loss of her husband.
See what Ricki Lake went through in her life and what helped her climb through all the tragedy with her spirits intact. And she thanks her dog for a lot of it…