Lauren Lake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lauren Lake
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Lake during an interview in November 2019
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Lauren Laniece Howard
July 12, 1969 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
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| Other names | Lauren J. Howard Lauren Lake Woods |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan (BA) Wayne State University (JD) |
| Occupation | Lawyer, talk show host, television personality |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Known for | Lauren Lake's Paternity Court |
Lauren Laniece Lake (born July 12, 1969) is an American lawyer who helps families with legal issues. She is also a TV judge and a talk show host.
Lauren Lake has been a guest host and news anchor on many talk shows and legal programs. She often talks about important topics like different races, ethnic groups, genders, and political issues. She also hosted a home improvement show on HGTV called Spice Up My Kitchen.
Lake is most famous for being the judge on her own TV show, Lauren Lake's Paternity Court. This show ran for seven seasons and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award five times, even winning one in 2019!
Early Life and Education
Lauren Lake was born in Detroit, Michigan. Her parents believed strongly in education. She said they were "Black people who fought their way through, one Ph.D. at a time," meaning they worked very hard to earn advanced degrees. As a child, Lauren loved to sing, dance, and act in plays.
She went to Mercy High School in Farmington Hills, Michigan. In 1986, she was a National Merit Scholar, which means she was recognized as one of the smartest students in the country.
In May 1990, Lake earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This is a four-year college degree. She also earned a teaching certificate that same year, which meant she could teach in schools. In May 1993, she earned a Juris Doctor degree from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, Michigan. A Juris Doctor (JD) is the degree you need to become a lawyer. She paid for her college education by singing on weekends.
In June 1995, she became a licensed lawyer in Michigan. She started her law career helping people accused of crimes as a criminal defense attorney. Later, in June 2002, she also became a licensed lawyer in New York and New Jersey. In these states, she mostly focused on entertainment law and family law, which deals with things like divorce and child custody. After finishing law school, Lake also started working professionally as a designer.
Entertainment Career
In 1999, Lauren Lake moved to New York City to work in the entertainment world. She sang backup for famous musicians like Mary J. Blige, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg. She also started writing, recording, and performing her own music. Eventually, she even started her own music production company.
Lake appeared on a show called To Live and Date in New York, which showed the daily lives of women dating in New York. This show aired on Women's Entertainment Channel and was also known as "Single in the City." Lauren Lake also worked as a helper and life coach on The Greg Behrendt Show. She was also a legal and relationship expert and life coach on The Ricki Lake Show for two seasons. On The Ricki Lake Show, she also helped with makeovers and judged different segments.
Lake has been a guest expert on many popular TV shows, including Dr. Phil and The View, where she shared her legal knowledge. She also appeared on The Today Show, The O'Reilly Factor, The Bill Cunningham Show, Regis & Kelly, Montel Williams, and The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet. She has been a guest host and legal expert for news channels like MSNBC and TruTV. Since 2005, Lake has regularly appeared on CNN, Headline News, Fox News Channel, and CNBC to talk about current events. In 2017, she was featured in an episode of a show called Modern Hero.
Lake also regularly contributes to Black Entertainment Television's Meet the Faith and My Two Cents. She has been on TLC shows like While You Were Out and Trading Spaces. From May 2007 to 2009, Lake hosted 47 episodes of HGTV's home improvement show Spice Up My Kitchen. She has said that not having formal design training helps her think creatively and "outside the box."
Lake became the judge on her own TV show, Lauren Lake's Paternity Court, which started on September 23, 2013. This show was produced by MGM Television and ran for 8 seasons until 2021. On the show, Lake heard and decided cases about paternity, which means figuring out who the biological father of a child is. She would share DNA test results to help solve these cases.
Lauren Lake has often appeared as a guest legal expert on Power 105.1 FM radio. She has also been a regular guest on Tom Joyner Morning Show and Michael Baisden radio show. She has been a guest on WBLS New York and a guest host for Radio One's WDBZ in Cincinnati.
In June 2021, Entertainment Studios decided to bring back the court show We the People, with Lauren Lake taking over as the judge. It started airing in 2022.
Other Work and Contributions
From 1999 to 2002, Lake was the vice president of DS Recordings Inc. Since September 2000, she has also been a co-owner of L Style Design Studios, LLC, in Fort Lee, N.J.. This company provides interior design services, helping people decorate their homes.
Since 2006, Lake has run her own law firm, the Law Offices of Lauren Lake, with offices in New York City, Saddlebrook, New Jersey, and Southfield, Michigan. In her practice, she handles both civil and criminal cases, including divorce, child custody and support, and paternity cases. She is a member of several legal groups, including The Metropolitan Bar Association, Association of Black Women Lawyers, and Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association. Lake is also a co-founder of the Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network (WEEN). This organization works to show women in a positive light in entertainment and society.
Lauren Lake is also a motivational speaker, inspiring others with her words. She participated in Bill Cosby's Call Out speaking tour in 2006. Lake also appears in Cosby's book Come on, People: On the Path from Victims to Victor.
Lake wrote a book called "Girl! Let Me Tell You...," which was published in 2009. In her book, Lake answers questions about life and love that single women often ask.
Personal Life
In 2007, Lauren Lake married Carlos Woods, who used to be an NFL coach and sports trader. They have one son together.
