You remember the hair, right? That massive, teased-to-the-heavens 1980s Tracy Turnblad bouffant. It’s the first image that pops into most people's heads when they think of Ricki Lake. But honestly, if you haven’t looked at pictures of ricki lake recently, you are missing out on one of the most grounded, slightly chaotic, and deeply human transformations in Hollywood history.
Ricki isn't just a nostalgia act. She’s become a sort of unofficial patron saint for women navigating the messy middle of life.
The Shaved Head and the Hair Loss Battle
In January 2020, Ricki did something that would make most public figures lose their minds. She posted a photo of her shaved head. It wasn't for a movie role. It wasn't a breakdown. It was a white flag. For nearly 30 years, she had been privately struggling with androgenetic alopecia. Think about that for a second. While she was interviewing "cheating boyfriends" on her 90s talk show, she was secretly terrified that her hair was falling out in clumps.
She blames the triple-processing and constant teasing from her Hairspray days. It’s kind of ironic, isn't it? The very look that made her famous was the thing that caused her decades of "debilitating, embarrassing, painful" stress.
Looking at those 2020 photos now, you can almost feel the relief radiating off her. She described the act as "liberated and free." Since then, the pictures show a different story. She eventually found a regimen with Harklinikken that worked, and by 2026, her silver, salt-and-pepper hair has become her signature. It’s thick, it’s natural, and it’s unapologetically grey. No more hiding.
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The 2024–2025 Health Transformation (No, It Wasn't Ozempic)
If you scroll through her Instagram or catch a glimpse of her on a late-night talk show recently, the physical change is jarring. Ricki and her husband, Ross Burningham, went on a massive health kick starting in late 2023. By June 2025, she had hit her goal weight of 130 lbs—dropping about 40 lbs from her starting point.
The internet, being the internet, immediately screamed "Ozempic!"
But Ricki actually addressed this head-on. She told Hindustan Times and People that she specifically wanted to do it without pharmaceuticals. At 55, and navigating the swamp of perimenopause, she wasn't sure her body would even respond. She used a glucose monitor, wore an Oura ring to track her sleep, and hiked—a lot. There's a great photo of her from mid-2024 wearing a weighted vest on a trail. She looks exhausted but genuinely happy.
Rising from the Ashes: The 2025 Fire
Life has a way of throwing a curveball right when you think you’ve got it figured out. On January 7, 2025, Ricki’s home in Los Angeles was destroyed by a wildfire. It was a total loss. Everything. She moved to New York City shortly after, a move she called "impulsive" but necessary.
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The most heartwarming series of pictures of ricki lake surfaced in late 2025. An artist named Patty Scanlon found a box of Ricki’s personal family photos at a flea market in Pasadena. Imagine thinking every photo of your kids as babies was burnt to a crisp, only to have a stranger find a box of copies at a swap meet.
The photos included shots of Ricki with her ex-husband, Rob Sussman, and their sons, Milo and Owen. When Ricki finally got that box back, she did an "unboxing" on social media. It wasn't a polished influencer video. It was raw, tearful, and a little bit magical. It reminds you that for all the red-carpet glamour, she’s just a mom who wanted her memories back.
The "New" Ricki: Facelifts and Transparency
We should talk about the facelift. In July 2025, Ricki celebrated the one-year anniversary of her "deep plane facelift" and neck lift. She didn't try to play it off as "just drinking more water" or "a new serum."
She posted the "before" and "after" shots.
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She even shared photos of herself in bed, bandaged and swollen, with her husband by her side. Why? Because she’s Ricki Lake. Her whole brand, from the day she started her talk show at age 24, has been about being a "real" person. She admitted that after losing the weight, the sagging skin under her chin was stressing her out. She fixed it, she’s proud of it, and she’s not hiding it.
What We Can Learn From Her Journey
Ricki Lake’s public image in 2026 is a masterclass in aging with your eyes wide open. She’s moved past the "talk show host" label and into something more like a wellness advocate. Her podcast, The High Life, deals with the stuff people are usually too scared to talk about: menopause, sex after 50, and mental health.
If you’re looking at her photos for inspiration, don't just look at the weight loss or the hair growth. Look at the transparency.
Takeaways from Ricki's recent years:
- Own your narrative. Whether it's hair loss or plastic surgery, telling the truth before the tabloids do takes away their power.
- Health is holistic. She used tech (Oura rings, monitors) but also basics (hiking, sleep) to manage her transition through perimenopause.
- Starting over is okay. Moving across the country at 57 after losing a home is terrifying, but as Ricki shows, it’s also an opportunity to "take a bite out of the city" again.
- Acceptance is the goal. Her recent "nude in a bathtub" photos weren't about vanity; they were about "complete self-acceptance."
To really appreciate the current pictures of ricki lake, you have to see them as a timeline of a woman who stopped trying to be what Hollywood wanted and started being what she needed. She’s currently living in NYC, riding the subway, and working with organizations like Community Access to help the homeless and those struggling with mental health.
If you want to follow her journey more closely, check out her Instagram for the most "unfiltered" updates. She often posts her daily hikes and behind-the-scenes looks at her life in New York. You can also listen to The High Life on major podcast platforms to hear her go deep on the stories behind the photos. Moving forward, look for her upcoming documentary projects where she continues to pull back the curtain on women's health issues.