David Hasselhoff

Birth Name: David Michael Hasselhoff
Birthdate: July 17, 1952
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland
Current Residence: Los Angeles, California
Marital Status: Married to actress Pamela Bach (Married December 8, 1989-present)/Divorced from first wife Catherine Hickland (Married from 1984-1987).
Hair/Eyes: Brown/Blue-Green
Height/weight: 6 feet, 4 inches tall/240 pounds
Heritage: American with German decent
Education: College/Academy of Dramatic Arts in Chicago, IL & California Institute of Arts in Los Angeles, CA.
Parents: Joseph and Dolores
Children: 2 daughters, Taylor Ann (May 5, 1990) and Hayley Amber (August 26, 1992) from second marriage to Pamela Bach.
Siblings: 4 sisters; Daine (May 19, 1950), Joyce (July 1, 1954), Jean (March 7, 1956), Lisa (July 5, 1968)
Showbusiness start: Big break came when he got the role of Dr. Snapper Foster on the CBS soap "Young & the Restless."
Hobbies/Interests: Singing; music; recording star in Europe; children's charities; environmental issues; musical theater.

David Michael Hasselhoff was born in Baltimore, Maryland. David loved acting since he was seven years old. He took acting, dancing and singing lessons. Very tall and thin, David was very shy around girls. He found refuge in school plays. His family moved frequently. He had a strong love for musicals and Broadway, so David decided to go in that direction. David's big break came when he was cast as Dr. Snapper Foster the daytime soap The Young & The Restless (CBS). Portraying the character for six years had earned him a huge following with fans.

David was lured by NBC's Brandon Tartikoff to make the move from daytime television to prime time. David left the cast and security of The Young & The Restless to star as Michael Knight in NBC's hit series Knight Rider. The role garnered him a People's Choice Award for Most Popular Actor. The production for Knight Rider ended in 1986. The show can still be seen in reruns and it is popular overseas, shown in more than 82 countries, resulting in David's first major international fan following.

The success of Knight Rider paved the way for David's next TV project. Baywatch, the hour-long drama series focused on the adventures of the Los Angeles County Lifeguards, debuted on NBC in 1989. It was cancelled after one season. Not wanting to cancel Baywatch, David and his partners acquired the rights to the show and, based on his popularity overseas, they were able to secure financing. The show was now a syndicated one.

Baywatch was seen in 144 countries by over one billion viewers each week (as estimated by The Guinness Book of World Records). The show's overwhelming international popularity led Entertainment Weekly to proclaim that Baywatch as The Most Popular Television Series in the History of the Planet in an October 1993 cover story.

David is one of the most recognizable faces on television throughout the world. TV Guide had named him as one of TV's Ten Most Powerful Stars. David is also one of the busiest stars around. He is a singer and popular recording artist.

Baywatch Nights was produced as a Baywatch spin-off series.

David was also an executive producer here. It ran for two seasons. David's other credits include his role as an evil jewel thief opposite Michael Gross in the TV Movie-of-the-Week, Avalanche (1994/FOX). He has also starred in The Cartier Affair with Joan Collins, Terror on London Bridge and The Ring of the Musketeers. Other television performances include David's reprisal of the role of Michael Knight in NBC's highly rated Movie-of-the-Week (MOW), Knight Rider 2000. David appeared NBC's Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake. The show ranked number one in the ratings for that week, and was the network's highest rated MOW for 1989.

David spent many hours visiting children's hospitals throughout the world. David founded the charity, Race for Life, which works with terminally ill and handicapped children in Indianapolis. In addition, he is active with the Starlight Foundation and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. David has said, "God has given me so much, I have to give back."

Despite his success as an actor, David's childhood dream of being a pop singing star had, by the late 1980s, was not yet fulfilled. However, when he crossed paths with noted German record producer, Jack White, his dream soon became a reality. The timing of the release of the single, Looking for Freedom, came as the end of the Cold War was to hit central Europe simultaneously. The song quickly became an anthem for the German people. The single raced to the number one spot on the German charts, where it remained for eight consecutive weeks in 1989.

The album, Looking for Freedom, hit the top of the German charts as well, staying there for three months. It went gold and triple platinum in Europe while on its way to becoming Germany's number one selling album of the year (Madonna's album was runner-up). David was named Most Popular and Best Selling Artist of the Year in Germany. This honor was followed up by a 20 city standing-room-only tour, with David playing to well that two German newspapers ran front page banner headlines screaming Hasselhoff, Not Since Elvis! and Hasselhoff, Not Since The Beatles! He has toured on two more occasions-in 1992 and 1994, and had released six more albums in Europe including You Are Everything, produced by Grammy-winning engineer/producer, Bruce Swedien.

The most thrilling performance of his entire career, however, came when David was invited to perform Looking for Freedom live on top of the Berlin Wall, New Year's Eve, 1989. It was the first time Germany had been unified, and close to a million East and West German fans stood together in the freezing cold at midnight, watching me perform. David had admitted that he was overcome with emotion.

A superstar in Europe, David made his music available to the U.S. by releasing his album, David Hasselhoff, and premiering the albums single, Fallin' in Love during a live performance on The Tonight Show (NBC). During the fall of 1996, while production for Baywatch was in full swing, he took to the road on weekends and completed a hectic tour schedule, performing at several state fairs across the country. David traveled to Taipei and gave a live performance at The Hard Rock Cafe. His performance was broadcast on the Star Network which carries programming throughout Asia, India and the Middle East to approximately 220 million viewers.

David left Baywatch (renamed Baywatch Hawaii after the show started filming in Hawaii) after the 10th season although he remained an Executive Producer. His character was killed off and he was not pleased. But the character's exit during an underwater explosion was not seen by viewers and this left the option open for David to return.

David returned to theater with his broadway debut of Jekyll & Hyde, which closed on January 7, 2001. With Baywatch and Jekyll & Hyde over, he wondered what he would put his energies into next. He had a problem with drinking that left him waking up in the hospital. He had a chance to think about the problem and decided to seek help. It generated a lot of publicity that caused his family a lot of pain. David credits his wife, actress Pamela Bach and two daughters Taylor Ann and Hayley for supporting him through his ordeal. He is still learning to deal with his recovery one day at a time.

He has kept busy and has filmed the reuinion movie, Baywatch: Hawaii Wedding/FOX, which aired February 28, 2003. He has a proposed feature based on his hit 1980's TV series, Knight Rider. He will serve as an Executive Producer and may reprise his role of Michael Knight in the film. David is also working on a new album, which is due out in 2004.