David Hasselhoff

David Michael Hasselhoff, nicknamed "the Hoff," is an American actor, singer, and television personality born on July 17, 1952. He first rose to prominent television recognition playing Dr. Snapper Foster on the soap opera The Young and the Restless from 1975 to 1982. He gained widespread global stardom for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the action crime drama Knight Rider and L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon on the drama series Baywatch.

Hasselhoff was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Dolores Theresa and Joseph Vincent Hasselhoff. Raised in a Roman Catholic family of German, English, and Irish descent, he spent his childhood in Jacksonville, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia, where he attended Marist School. He made his stage debut at age seven in Peter Pan and graduated from Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois, in 1970. He pursued higher education at Oakland University and studied theater at the California Institute of the Arts until 1973.

Hasselhoff made his feature film debut in 1974's Revenge of the Cheerleaders to join the Screen Actors Guild. After his stint on The Young and the Restless, he starred in Knight Rider from 1982 to 1986. His portrayal of Michael Knight earned him Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Program at the 1983 People's Choice Awards. In 1989, he joined the cast of Baywatch. When NBC canceled the series after its first season, Hasselhoff invested his own money, served as executive producer, and revived it for first-run syndication in 1991. The show ran until 2001, reaching nearly one billion viewers across 140 countries.

Beyond television dramas, Hasselhoff expanded into film and musical theater. He portrayed Marvel Comics character Nick Fury in the 1998 telefilm Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. In 2000, he made his Broadway debut starring in Jekyll & Hyde, later performing in productions of Chicago, The Producers, Peter Pan, 9 to 5: The Musical, and Last Night a DJ Saved My Life. His film credits include appearances in DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Click, Hop, Piranha 3DD, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

In music, Hasselhoff has released fifteen studio albums, achieving significant commercial success in German-speaking European regions. His single "Looking for Freedom" reached number one in Germany and Switzerland, earning him multiple gold and platinum awards. A 2006 fan campaign for his single "Jump in My Car" helped him reach his highest UK chart entry at number three. He has also undertaken music tours across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Hasselhoff has served as a judge on television competition shows, including America's Got Talent from 2006 to 2009 and Britain's Got Talent in 2011. He competed on season 11 of Dancing with the Stars and starred alongside his daughters in the 2010 reality series The Hasselhoffs. In 2015, he starred in the UK sitcom series Hoff the Record, playing a fictionalized version of himself.

Throughout his career, Hasselhoff has received several honors, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996, Comedy Central roasts, the VH1 Comeback Star of the Year award, and the International Star of the Year Award from the Bollywood Awards. He has also engaged in speaking engagements at the Oxford and Cambridge Student Unions and hosted talk shows in Sweden and Finland.