David Hasselhoff

Biography: An American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch. Hasselhoff also produced Baywatch for a number of seasons in the 1990s up until 2001, when the series ended with Baywatch Hawaii. Hasselhoff also crossed over to a music career during the end of the 1980s and the early 1990s. He was noted for his performance at the Berlin Wall at New Year?s Eve 1989; he enjoyed a short-lived success as a singer primarily in German-speaking Europe.

More recently, Hasselhoff has been involved with talent shows. He was the first celebrity eliminated from the eleventh season of Dancing with the Stars on September 21, 2010. He was also a judge on NBC?s America?s Got Talent from 2006 to 2009. In 2011, he joined the Britain?s Got Talent judging panel, alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Michael McIntyre. He appeared as himself in the 2011 film Hop.

Hasselhoff was born in Baltimore, Maryland to homemaker Dolores and business executive Joe Hasselhoff. He is of German ancestry; his great-great-grandmother Meta emigrated with her family to Baltimore from Volkersen, 30 kilometres from Bremen, in 1865. Hasselhoff spent his pre-teen years in Jacksonville, Florida and later lived in Atlanta, Georgia where he attended Marist High School. He graduated from Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois in 1970. He was a member of speech team, senior discussion leaders, president of choir, captain of the volleyball team and held roles in several plays (including one lead role as Matt in Fantasticks). He studied at Bates College and Oakland University and graduated with a degree in theatre at the California Institute of the Arts.

Hasselhoff portrayed Dr. William "Snapper" Foster, Jr. on the soap opera The Young and the Restless from 1975 to 1982. In 1979, he played the role of 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.? He guest starred on an episode of Diff?rent Strokes as himself in 1984.

Hasselhoff starred in the science-fiction series Knight Rider from 1982 to 1986. He 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. And we had a blast making it, and we made sure nobody died on the show; [just as] we made sure nobody ever drowned on Baywatch." (However, in the 1982 two hour pilot "Knight Of The Phoenix", Michael Long?s partner Mugsy is shot and dies in the parking lot. Also a female character died in the "Nobody Does It Better" episode and a gang member was killed by Michael Knight in the "Short Notice" episode). 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."

Hasselhoff was married to actress Catherine Hickland from March 24, 1984 to March 1, 1989. Their wedding was recreated in the Knight Rider Season 4 episode "The Scent of Roses" which first aired on January 3, 1986.

Hasselhoff married actress Pamela Bach on December 9, 1989. The couple had two daughters, Taylor Ann Hasselhoff born May 5, 1990 who attended the University of Arizona and actress Hayley Hasselhoff born August 28, 1992. On January 13, 2006 Hasselhoff announced he was filing for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences