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Ricki Lake on Love, Life, Loss and Longevity in her Nearly 40-Year Illustrious Career

Episode 476: Ricki Lake on Love, Life, Loss and Longevity in her Nearly 40-Year Illustrious Career

Actress, television host, and producer Ricki Lake

Show notes

Ricki Lake is an American actress, television host, and producer whose career has spanned more than three decades. She burst onto the scene at just 19 years old as Tracy Turnblad in John Waters' 1988 cult classic Hairspray, earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. She went on to appear in a string of beloved films including Cry-Baby, Serial Mom, and Mrs. Winterbourne.

In 1993, at just 24 years old, she made history as the youngest person to host a syndicated daytime talk show, The Ricki Lake Show, which ran for 11 seasons. She brought the show back in 2012, winning a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host. She has also produced the documentaries The Business of Being Born and Weed the People. Most recently, Ricki is an executive producer of Big Rock Burning, a documentary about the devastating 2025 Palisades Fire, which destroyed her own Malibu home. And, she is an ambassador for Community Access, a New York-based nonprofit providing housing and support for people with mental health challenges.

Ricki is living a very rich, successful and open life full of incredible highs and lows. We talk about love, life, loss, and longevity in her nearly 40-year illustrious career.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

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Ricki Lake

Ricki Lake

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