David Hasselhoff facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
David Hasselhoff
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Hasselhoff in 2009
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| Born |
David Michael Hasselhoff
July 17, 1952 |
| Other names | The Hoff |
| Education | Oakland University California Institute of the Arts |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1973–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Catherine Hickland
(m. 1984; div. 1989)Pamela Bach
(m. 1989; div. 2006)Hayley Roberts
(m. 2018) |
| Children | 2, including Hayley |
| Awards | Hollywood Walk of Fame |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1983–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | Catherine Hickland |
David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), often called "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and TV star. He is known for his roles in popular TV shows like Knight Rider and Baywatch. He also has a successful music career, especially in Europe.
Hasselhoff has appeared in many movies, including The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) and Click (2006). He was even the first actor to play the Marvel Comics character Nick Fury in a TV movie in 1998. On stage, he has starred in Broadway musicals like Jekyll & Hyde and Chicago. He has also been a judge on TV talent shows such as America's Got Talent and Britain's Got Talent.
Contents
Early Life and Education
David Hasselhoff was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His family has German, English, and Irish roots. His great-great-grandmother, Meta, moved to Baltimore from Germany in 1865.
He grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and later in Atlanta, Georgia. David started acting at age seven in Peter Pan. His dream was always to perform on Broadway. He finished high school in La Grange, Illinois, in 1970. He was active in school, joining the speech team, choir, and volleyball team, and acting in plays. He later studied theater at the California Institute of the Arts.
Early Career Highlights
Hasselhoff first became famous playing Dr. "Snapper Foster" on the TV show The Young and the Restless from 1975 to 1982. He also appeared in a children's show called Kids Incorporated where he sang.
Starring in Knight Rider
In 1982, David Hasselhoff got a big role as Michael Knight in the action TV series Knight Rider. He played a hero who fought crime with a super-smart car named KITT. The show was very popular and ran until 1986. David has said that Knight Rider was more than just a TV show; it was about "saving lives, not taking lives." His role earned him the Favorite Male Performer award at the 9th People's Choice Awards in 1983.
The Success of Baywatch
After Knight Rider, Hasselhoff returned to TV in Baywatch in 1989. The show was canceled after one season, but David believed in it. He invested his own money to bring it back and became an executive producer. This helped Baywatch become a huge success.
From the 1990s until 2001, Baywatch was watched by nearly 1 billion people in 140 countries. This made David Hasselhoff one of the most recognized TV stars in the world.
Later Career and Other Ventures
In 1996, David Hasselhoff received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He made his Broadway debut in 2000 in the musical Jekyll & Hyde. He also played the lead role in the London production of Chicago.
Hasselhoff has often made fun of his own image in movies. He played himself in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) and had a funny role as a dodgeball coach in DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story. He also appeared in the Adam Sandler film Click.
From 2006 to 2009, Hasselhoff was a judge on NBC's America's Got Talent, a show where people perform their unique skills. He later joined the judging panel for Britain's Got Talent in 2011.
Music and Campaigns
In 2006, fans started an online campaign called "Get Hasselhoff to Number 1" to get his 1989 hit song "Looking for Freedom" to the top of the UK music charts. The campaign gained a lot of attention. When his song "Jump in My Car" was released, it reached number 3 on the UK charts, his highest ever in the UK.
In 2008, Hasselhoff launched his own social networking site called "HoffSpace," but it is no longer active.
Reality TV and Other Appearances
Hasselhoff and his daughters, Taylor-Ann and Hayley, starred in a reality TV series called The Hasselhoffs in 2010. The show followed his efforts to boost his career and help his daughters in Hollywood.
In 2014, a UK comedy series called Hoff the Record began airing, where Hasselhoff played a funny, fictional version of himself. In 2017, he appeared in a short film called It's No Game, where his lines were created by an artificial intelligence.
Hasselhoff also works as a motivational speaker, sharing inspiring messages with audiences. In 2017, he became the first official mayor of Funner, California. He also had a cameo role in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and sang the song "Guardians Inferno" for the film.
Music Career
David Hasselhoff started his music career in 1977 on The Merv Griffin Show. His first album, Night Rocker, came out in 1985 and was very successful in Austria.
Success in Europe
In 1988, he released the song "Looking for Freedom", which became a huge hit in Germany, staying at number one for eight weeks. It also topped the charts in Austria and Switzerland. He famously performed this song at the Berlin Wall on New Year's Eve 1989, shortly after it fell. He has said the song became an "anthem" and "song of hope" for people in East Germany.
His album Crazy for You (1990) became his biggest-selling album. He continued to release successful albums and tour across Europe throughout the 1990s.
Recent Music
In 2015, he recorded the song "True Survivor" for the Swedish short film Kung Fury. The song and its music video were a fun tribute to the 1980s, featuring dinosaurs and kung fu. In 2019, he released his album Open Your Eyes, which included covers of popular songs and collaborations with other artists. He toured to promote the album and celebrate the 30th anniversary of "Looking for Freedom."
In 2020, Hasselhoff released his first heavy metal song, "Through The Night," with an Austrian duo called CueStack.
Personal Life
David Hasselhoff's autobiography, Making Waves, was released in 2006.
He has been married three times. His first marriage was to actress Catherine Hickland from 1984 to 1989. He then married actress Pamela Bach in 1989. They have two daughters, Taylor Ann and Hayley. They divorced in 2006.
In 2011, Hasselhoff began dating Hayley Roberts from Wales. They got married on July 31, 2018, in Italy and later honeymooned in the Maldives. David Hasselhoff is a fan of Welsh rugby union and often attends matches with his wife.
List of Works
Honors and Awards
- 1983 – Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Program: People's Choice Awards
- 2005 – International Star of the Year Award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Entertainment: Bollywood Awards
- 2006 – Comeback Star of the Year: VH1 Big in '06 Awards
- 2010 – The Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff: Comedy Central
Images for kids
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Hasselhoff in costume as Michael Knight in 1986
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Hasselhoff with journalist Irina Slutsky promoting social networking venture HoffSpace, 2008
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Hasselhoff with now-wife Hayley Roberts in 2014
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See also
In Spanish: David Hasselhoff para niños
