David Hasselhoff

His great-great-grandmother, Meta, emigrated with her family to Baltimore from Völkersen, Germany in 1865.

He spent his childhood in Jacksonville, Florida, and later lived in Atlanta, Georgia, where he attended Marist School.

Hasselhoff made his theatrical debut at the age of seven in Peter Pan, and ever since his childhood dream was to have a career on Broadway.

Hasselhoff was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Dolores Theresa (née Mullinex; 1930–2009), a homemaker, and Joseph Vincent Hasselhoff (1925–2014), a business executive.

His family is Roman Catholic with German, English, and Irish descent.

David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality.

He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV.

He graduated from Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois, in 1970.

He was a member of the speech team, senior discussion leaders, president of the choir, captain of the volleyball team and held roles in several plays (including one lead role as Matt in The Fantasticks).

He studied at Oakland University before graduating with a degree in theater at the California Institute of the Arts.

His feature film debut was in 1974 as "Boner" in Revenge of the Cheerleaders, which he did to get accredited into the Screen Actors Guild.

At the time, he believed that the film would not be released, but it was: two years later, also appearing under the title Caught with their Pants Down.

Hasselhoff first gained recognition on The Young and the Restless (1975–1982), playing the role of Dr. Snapper Foster.

Hasselhoff portrayed Dr. "Snapper Foster" on The Young and the Restless from 1975 to 1982, leaving the series as the show wrote out many of their original characters.

In 1979, he played "Simon" in Starcrash.

He launched his singing career with guest appearances on the first season of children's program Kids Incorporated, performing "Do You Love Me".

His career continued with his leading role as Michael Knight on Knight Rider (1982–1986) and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in Baywatch (1989–2000). He also produced Baywatch from the 1990s until 2001 when the series ended with Baywatch Hawaii.

Hasselhoff was recruited by then-NBC-president Brandon Tartikoff to star in the action crime drama series Knight Rider from 1982 to 1986 as Michael Knight.

The actor has described Knight Rider as more than a TV show: "It's a phenomenon. It's bigger than Baywatch ever was."

On the success of Knight Rider – "It's because it was about saving lives, not taking lives, and it was how one man really can make a difference."

He describes the acting he has done as "a little more difficult than if you had a regularly well-written script – like, if I was going to be in, say, Reservoir Dogs, or The Godfather, or Dances with Wolves or Lawrence of Arabia or ER, I had to talk to a car."

His role in the show led him to a People's Choice Award for 'Most Popular Actor'.

He guest-starred on two episodes of Diff'rent Strokes and the soap opera Santa Barbara as himself in 1984.

Hasselhoff returned to television on Baywatch which premiered in 1989.

It ran for a total of 11 years and, from the 1990s until its series finale in 2001, was watched by almost 1 billion viewers across 140 countries, solidifying his status among the world's foremost television personalities of the said period.

This success combined with his royalties and his other ventures have placed Hasselhoff's fortune at more than $100 million.

Although it was canceled after only one season, he believed the series had potential, so Hasselhoff revived it for the first-run syndication market in 1991, investing his own money and additionally functioning as executive producer.

His contract stipulated royalties to be paid to him from the rerun profits, which gave him the financial liberty to buy back the rights to Baywatch from NBC.

In its second incarnation, Baywatch was much more successful.

In 1991, Hasselhoff reprised his role as Michael Knight in the television film Knight Rider 2000 as a sequel to the original series.

The movie served as a pilot for a proposed new series, but despite high ratings, the plan was abandoned.

In 1996, Hasselhoff was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 1997, he performed a duet with Filipino singer Regine Velasquez, which was used as the main theme for his 1998 movie Legacy.

Before Samuel L. Jackson, Hasselhoff was the first actor to portray the Marvel Comics character Nick Fury in the telefilm Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1998).

In 2000, he made his Broadway debut in the musical Jekyll & Hyde.

Following his debut, he starred in other musicals including Chicago and The Producers.

Hasselhoff has released a total of 15 studio albums, which found success mostly in German-speaking parts of Europe, where he has garnered multiple gold and platinum awards, with the single "Looking for Freedom" achieving number one in Germany and Switzerland.

He made his Broadway debut in 2000 in the title role of Jekyll & Hyde.

Hasselhoff has appeared in films, including Dodgeball (2004), The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), Click (2006), Hop (2011), and Piranha 3DD (2012).

Hasselhoff has also worked as a talent show judge on television shows such as America's Got Talent (2006–2009) and Britain's Got Talent (2011).