Born:
July 17, 1952
in
Baltimore, Maryland
Trivia:
He published his autobiography, Making Waves, in 2006.
Best Known For:
Baywatch and Knight Rider.
Early-life:
Born David Michael Hasselhoff on July 17, 1952, in Baltimore, Maryland. His father was an executive, his mother a housewife. He has four sisters, and believe it or not, was very shy as a child due to his height and skinny frame. Hasselhoff decided to become an actor at the age of seven. After leaving school, he studied at the California Institute of the Arts and the Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Career:
Hasselhoff originally intended to concentrate on musical theatre, until he landed a regular role in long-running soap The Young and the Restless. However, it was cult series Knight Rider that made him a star in 1982. Various little-seen TV shows and movies followed, until Baywatch became a global hit in 1989. He's also had success as a singer in Europe, appeared on Broadway and in the West End, and in the films Dodgeball and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. He returned to TV in 2006 as a judge on America's Got Talent. Since then he's returned briefly to The Young and the Restless, took part in Dancing with the Stars, appeared in panto and had a short stint as a judge on Britain's Got Talent.
Quote:
On his belief he helped bring to an end the Cold War thanks to a concert at the Berlin Wall: "I find it a bit sad there is no photo of me hanging on the walls in the Berlin Museum at Checkpoint Charlie."