David Hasselhoff is often described as an American legend. He is an actor, singer, producer, and businessman most known all over the world for his roles in Knight Rider and Baywatch. This earned him a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most-Watched TV star in the world.
Here’s everything you need to know about the American superstar.
David Hasselhoff Biography
David Michael Hasselhoff was born on the 17th of July, 1952 in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents were Dolores Therese and Joe Vincent Hasselhoff, a business executive. The actor was raised with four sisters – Diane Hasselhoff, Joyce Hasselhoff, Jean Hasselhoff and Lisa Hasselhoff.
Because of his father’s profession, his family moved frequently. He spent most of his childhood in Jacksonville, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia. David Hasselhoff caught the acting bug from the age of seven when he participated in the theatrical play, Peter Pan. He always thought he would be a musician and act on Broadway. While in high school, he participated in almost everything. He was a member of the speech team, president of the choir, and school captain of the volleyball team.
After graduating from high school, he studied at Oakland University and then attained a degree in theatre at the California Institute of Arts.
Career
His early career in acting began with the soap opera series The Young and The Restless where he portrayed the character Dr. Snapper Foster for six seasons. He continued his on-camera career, performing as a guest star on the show Kids Incorporated and in the film Starcrash.
In 1982, he starred as Michael Knight in the NBC’s series Knight Rider. His career exploded after Knight Rider, making him one of the most recognizable actors on TV, both in the United States and overseas.
His character in the series, Michael Knight, is a hero who fought all types of crimes with the help of his talking car KITT, voiced by William Daniels. His sister Jean also appeared on one of the episodes as Stanley Kamal’s secretary, Rosemary.
The NBC show was so famous that 33 years later, it is still watched throughout the world. David Hasselhoff received an award for Most Popular Actor at the People’s Choice Award. When the prime time show ended in 1986, the actor launched his music career, releasing a debut single Looking for Freedom in 1989. The song was particularly successful in then-West Germany, topping the German music charts at number 1 for eight consecutive weeks.
He performed that same single at the Berlin Wall on New Year’s Eve and was awarded Most Popular and Best Selling Artist of the Year in Germany (1989).
The second most successful TV show that he was well known for all over the world is NBC’s Baywatch which premiered in 1989. The show which had high ratings was canceled after its first season but David Hasselhoff had it revived in 1991. He invested his own money and functioned as executive producer and lead actor. With royalties from the reruns, he was also able to buy the show from NBC. The show was so successful and was watched by 1 billion viewers across 140 countries, making it the most-watched show in TV history. On Baywatch, he played Mitch Buchannon leader of a lifeguard group in California.
In his later career, David Hasselhoff had his debut on Broadway in Jekyll and Hyde in 2000. He also reprised his character Michael Knight in the television films Knight Rider 2000 and Knight Rider in 2008. He made several appearances in movies such as The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Dodge Ball: A True Underdog Story, Click and Kickin’ It Old Skool, Sharkando 3: Oh Hell No!, Sharkando: The 4th Awakens, and Guardians of Galaxy Vol. 2.
David Hasselhoff served as a judge on NBC’s America’s Got Talent from 2006-2009 alongside Sharon Osbourne and Peter Morgan but was later replaced by comedian Howie Mandel in the show’s fifth season.
In 2010, David Hasselhoff appeared as a contestant on the eleventh season of Dancing with the Stars alongside professional dancer Kym Johnson. In 2011, he joined Britain’s Got Talent judging panel. This was where he met his current wife, Hayley Roberts.
Wife – Hayley Roberts, Daughters & Ex-Wives
Prior to tying the knot with his current wife, Hayley Roberts, David Hasselhoff was married twice before.
His first marriage was to Catherine Hickland on the 24th of March, 1984. The marriage ended on March 1, 1989. The second marriage was to the beautiful actress, Pamela Bach on the 8th of December, 1989. With his ex-wife, Pamela Bach, David has two daughters – Taylor-Ann Hasselhoff who was born on the 5th of May, 1990, and Hayley Amber Hasselhoff, born on the 26th of August, 1992. The couple filed for divorce in 2006, leaving David with full custody of their children.
In the spring of 2016, the actor got engaged to a Welsh sales assistant, Hayley Roberts. The pair met in 2011 when Hayley approached him for an autograph while he was in Cardiff judging Britain’s Got Talent. Following his proposal, the lovebirds got married on the 31st of July 2018 in Italy.
David Hasselhoff Net worth
After buying the show Baywatch from NBC, combining his royalties and other ventures till date, David Hasselhoff is worth a whopping sum of $110 million. This is certainly an impressive amount and the actor undoubtedly deserves every penny of it.
