Ricki Lake has never been one to shy away from sharing her personal life with her fans, laying bare everything from her childhood sexual assault trauma and battle with obesity to her alopecia diagnosis.
And now, the 55-year-old has candidly opened up about a much more positive step forward in her life – her staggering 30lb weight loss transformation.
The Hairspray actress, who rose to stardom in 1988, recently unveiled her incredible her svelte new figure while shutting down suggestion that she’d been taking Ozempic by vehemently denying that her makeover was the result of any pharmaceutical intervention.
However, the actress’s journey to confidence and self-love hasn’t come easy, with Ricki having gone through many ups and downs due to her yo-yoing weight loss, and her ‘secret’ battle with androgenic hair loss.
Ricki Lake (seen left in 2023 and right on Sunday) wowed her fans this weekend when she proudly showcased her 30lb weight loss on the red carpet at an event in LA
The 55-year-old Hairspray star looked happy and confident as she posed for the cameras – but her journey to achieving that self love has been anything but easy
Ricki’s journey to embracing her body and her appearance began at an incredibly tender age – after a childhood sexual assault sparked a complex and lengthy struggle with overeating.
Through the years, she has opened up candidly about her yo-yoing weight, appearing on the cover of magazines to celebrate a slim-down, while speaking out about her struggles to maintain it.
Add to that a recent battle with alopecia – which saw Ricki bravely baring her bald head for the world – and it’s clear that the TV star’s journey to self love has been anything but easy.
Now, FEMAIL has laid bare Ricki’s wild transformations throughout the years – from how she became a ‘role model for heavy people’ to being accused of being a ‘sell out’ when she shed off pounds to having to shave her head due to her challenging fight with alopecia.
From childhood abuse to stardom and back to rock bottom: How being a victim of sexual abuse at age six caused the actress to develop eating issues
The actress rose to stardom in 1988 (seen) when she appeared in Hairspray, but years before she made it big in Hollywood, she struggled with plenty of childhood trauma
Ricki (seen in 2001) has gone through many ups and downs due to her yo-yoing weight loss
Ricki began struggling with her weight and eating issues when she was just a child.
She chalked up her weight gain to the ‘sexual abuse’ she endured as a child at the age of six.
She told ABC: ‘I was sexually abused as a child, as a young child. And I think that is what contributed to my being overweight… and obese, in the later years.
‘I, even subconsciously, did not want to be attractive to men. And it was my way of, you know, protecting myself, I think… and maybe stuffing my feelings with food.’
By the time she was 10, her weight began creeping up on her.
She added: ‘I was still kind of cute, so I could pull it off, you know. Through my adolescence and, you know, later teenage years, I got bigger and bigger and bigger.’
She explained that she also had ‘the worst eating habits’ because her family didn’t sit down for dinner.
Ricki has previously told GMA that as a child, she was a ‘secret eater’ and would often sneak food into her room.
Ricki (seen in Hairspray in 1988) began struggling with her weight and eating issues when she was just a child
She chalked up her weight gain to the ‘sexual abuse’ she endured as a child at the age of six (seen in 1990)
She explained that she also had ‘the worst eating habits’ because her family didn’t sit down for dinner (seen in Hairspray in 1988)
By the time she was in college, Ricki weighed 200 pounds, but it was at 19 that her weight began to benefit her career.
She soared to fame when she played the leading lady Tracy Turnblad in the first film adaptation of Hairspray.
To the world, Ricki became known as a ‘pleasantly plump’ girl-next-door who had just had her big break.
And soon enough, Ricki became a total star, with people begging her to star in various hits such as China Beach and Cry Baby, where she played Johnny Depp’s sister.
However, the ‘endless flow of opportunities,’ soon came crumbling down when her weight soared to 260 pounds. According to GMA, Ricki’s agent stopped returning her calls and for a short amount of time, the actress was even homeless.
It was at this point, Ricki felt like she hit rock bottom and decided that she needed to make a change. However, the actress went to extreme levels to shed off weight – adding that she would never recommend it to anyone else.
She began starving herself and exercising daily until she dropped from a size 24 to a size 12 and shed off 100 pounds in just over six months. She told the outlet: ‘I was fainting on, like, the spot. I’d be standing up and then, black out, and not remember anything.’
‘People say I’ve sold out’: Ricki’s weight began to yo-yo after she was slammed over 115-pound slim down
When the actress (seen in 2000) dropped over 115 pounds, her ‘role model’ status for those overweight was stripped from her
Having lost a majority of weight in 1993, the star’s (seen in 1996) career once again took off and she was able to land her own talk show from 1993-2004
By 2007, Ricki had once again made another shocking transformation and dropped down to a size four
When the actress dropped over 115 pounds, her ‘role model’ status for those overweight was stripped from her.
At the time, the actress told the New York Times, ‘I was happy then. I’m just happier now. Clearly so much happier now that I can fit in this booth and not feel uncomfortable.
‘Some people say I’ve sold out, you know. I was this role model for heavy people. But the thing is, I never set out to be a role model at all, and I don’t set out to be one now. I won’t preach to anyone and tell them how to lose weight. I don’t know any better than the next person.’
Having lost a majority of weight in 1993, the star’s career once again took off and she was able to land her own talk show from 1993-2004.
Throughout this time, her weight yo-yoed as fans saw the pounds pile on and off.
By 2007, Ricki had once again made another shocking transformation and dropped down to a size four.
She left fans stunned by showing off her new physique as she sported a red one-piece swimsuit on the cover of US Weekly.
The actress proudly flaunted her figure as she revealed that she went from a size 24 to a size four.
The actress (seen in 2007) proudly flaunted her figure as she revealed that she went from a size 24 to a size four
Three years later, Ricki had gained weight and had gone from a size four to a size six
In 2011, the actress became a member of Dancing with the Stars and noted that she figured it would help her slim down again
Three years later, Ricki had gained weight and had gone from a size four to a size six.
In 2011, the actress became a member of Dancing with the Stars and noted that she figured it would help her slim down again.
At the start of rehearsals, she told US Weekly: ‘I feel like I could lose about 15 pounds. I’m going to be careful.
‘It’s going to be weird, because having dealt with weight issues my whole life and you think deprivation, starving yourself — but I can’t do that if I’m dancing six hours a day. I’m just going to be really conscious of it.
‘For the first time it won’t be about the pounds, it’ll be about strength and my body. I’m up for the challenge.’
A journey to happiness and self-love: Ricki overcame weight loss issues while struggling in secret with androgenic hair loss
After making an appearance on the dancing show, Ricki’s (seen in 2019) weight once again yo-yoed and in 2018, and she had piled back on some of the weight she had lost
Throughout the years, Ricki’s (seen in 2019) weight continued to rise and fall again and again as she also struggled with androgenic hair loss
In 2020, Ricki revealed that she had been ‘struggling in secret with androgenic hair loss’
After making an appearance on the dancing show, Ricki’s weight once again yo-yoed and in 2018, and she had piled back on some of the weight she had lost.
Throughout the years, Ricki’s weight continued to rise and fall again and again as she also struggled with androgenic hair loss.
In 2020, Ricki revealed that she had been ‘struggling in secret with androgenic hair loss’.
She took to Instagram to share a video of herself from the time as she sported a shaved head.
The actress was smiling for the camera as she had her hair buzzed off for the second time. Ricki was embracing her short, grey hair before making the decision again to completely buzz it off.
She captioned the Instagram post: ‘First things first, I am not sick. (THANK GOD.) I am not having a mid-life crisis. Nor am I having a mental breakdown, though I have been suffering.
‘Suffering mostly in silence off and on for almost 30 years. AND I am finally ready to share my secret.’
The mother-of-two credits her hair loss from the time she spent filming the Hairspray movies, even mentioning it in her original Instagram post.
The mother-of-two (seen in 2021) credits her hair loss from the time she spent filming the Hairspray movies, even mentioning it in her original Instagram post
She has since shared her dramatic hair transformation in a series of Instagram photos
‘Ever since I played Tracy Turnblad in the original Hairspray back in 1988 and they triple-processed and teased my then healthy virgin hair every 2 weeks during filming, my hair was never the same. (Yes, that was all my own hair in the film.) From Hairspray to Hairless.’
She has since shared her dramatic hair transformation in a series of Instagram photos.
She noted that she had to teach herself how to practice self-love even during the hardest times.
However, her hair loss battle on top her weight issues made for a complicated situation.
In 2022, she spoke out about her complicated relationship with weight loss and discussed going on a ‘crash diet’ and getting down to a ‘sample size.’
‘I was offered four magazine covers. It was People, Us Weekly, OK! — the power of that, it was unbelievable. Well, not unbelievable, totally believable, but it happened to me. Yes, I got more opportunities, more attention, it was way more positive,’ she said on her podcast Raised By Ricki.
‘I’m conflicted because I am proud of myself. When I lose that weight, it is something I want the world to know, I did this. It’s a lot of work and a lot of willpower, so I want to talk about it, but I know that it’s not the best thing to be celebrating.’
She said at the time that she was ‘perpetuating that obsession we have with diet culture,’ adding, ‘I’m a part of it.’
In 2022, she spoke out about her complicated relationship with weight loss and discussed going on a ‘crash diet’ and getting down to a ‘sample size’ (seen in 2023)
In 2023, she revealed that she and her husband Ross Burningham each lost 30 pounds in four months — putting Ricki at 140 pounds — and did it ‘without relying on a pharmaceutical’
She added that her weight loss journey took place while she is in perimenopause – the transition period before menopause, which can slow down metabolism
In 2023, she took to Instagram to reveal she and her husband Ross Burningham each lost 30 pounds in four months — putting Ricki at 140 pounds now — and did it ‘without relying on a pharmaceutical.’
She added that her weight loss journey took place while she is in perimenopause – the transition period before menopause, which can slow down metabolism.
‘Hi friends. I’ve been wanting to share with you what I’ve been up to these last 4 months. On October 26th, 2023 I made a commitment to myself to get healthier. My husband, Ross joined me in this effort,’ she wrote in the caption
‘Together we have each lost 30+ lbs. I really want to share, because we did this without relying on a pharmaceutical. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.),’ she shared.
‘But neither of us were pre diabetic and both of us felt like we wanted to at least try and do it on our own,’ the star — whose highest weight was 260 pounds — went on.
‘Being 55 and in perimenopause, I was a bit worried, that my body would not drop the lbs like it had in the past.’
‘I am so so proud of us. I feel amazing. I feel strong. I will go in depth in another post of what I did exactly, but suffice to say this is the healthiest way I’ve lost weight in all of my years.’
Now, the actress continues to showcase her transformation and most recently showed off her figure while walking on the red carpet at the Eddie Awards (seen with John Waters)
Her jaw-dropping appearance comes one week after she once again gave her fans a glimpse of her weight loss wearing a red minidress she had worn 17 years earlier for a magazine cover
‘First pic – taken today on our daily hike,’ she shared, referring to a snap of her in a straw hat and grey sweatshirt, with Ross strolling behind her.
‘Second pic and third pic 11/3/23,’ she added, in reference to a snap of her and Ross hugging, and another one of her on the beach, both of which displayed her fuller figure.
‘(I only started weighing myself on 11/15/23) guessing I was about 170 when I started. I’m 5’3”,’ she explained, adding the hashtags ‘#healthy #fitat55 #proud #thisis55.’
The actress added a graph from her phone showing her weight loss progress, which revealed she had lost 20 pounds since November.
Now, the actress continues to showcase her transformation and most recently showed off her figure while walking on the red carpet.
The star flaunted her taunt figure in an all-black outfit as she let her short locks fall down to her shoulder.
Her jaw-dropping appearance comes one week after she once again gave her fans a glimpse of her weight loss wearing a red minidress she had worn 17 years earlier for a magazine cover.
‘Then and now. 2007-2024,’ Ricki wrote in the caption. ‘I held onto this #NormaKamali one-piece for all these years wondering if I would ever be able to wear it again.’
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