ENTERTAINMENTFormer TV Talk Show Host Ricki Lake Stars in New Lifetime Movie Based on Susan Cox Powell Case
Ricki Lake returned to acting with a new Lifetime movie based on a true story.
Oct. 7 2026, Updated 8:24 a.m. ET
Ricki Lake is returning to acting.
The former daytime talk show host, 57, is set to star in Lifetime’s upcoming movie She Married Her Murderer: The Susan Cox Powell Story, marking her return to acting after several years away from the screen.
Ricki Lake Is Set to Take on the Role of Susan Cox Powell’s Mother
Ricki Lake will play Susan Cox Powell’s mother Judy Cox in the new film.
Ricki will portray Judy Cox, the mother of Susan Cox Powell, the Utah woman whose 2009 disappearance captivated the nation.
She will star alongside Mike Dopud, who plays Susan’s father, Chuck Cox, and Matreya Scarrwener, who portrays Susan.
According to Lifetime, “The movie follows Susan Cox Powell (Scarrwener), a young mother trapped in a controlling and abusive marriage who vanishes without a trace. As her parents, Judy (Lake) and Chuck (Dopud), launch a search, cameras swarm the neighborhood and Susan’s husband, Josh (Jonathan Whitesell), claims he was camping with their two sons.”
The new Lifetime movie will follow Susan Cox Powell’s disappearance and her family.
“But when his story doesn’t add up, disturbing secrets soon emerge, including his father Steve’s unsettling obsession with Susan,” the synopsis reads.
“After Chuck and Judy fight to gain custody of their grandsons, Josh’s court-ordered visit with the boys turns tragic. In the aftermath, Chuck and Judy turn their unimaginable grief into advocacy through the Susan Cox Powell Foundation, supporting families of missing loved ones, raising awareness about domestic abuse, and advocating for stronger protections for victims and their children," it continues.
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Ricki Lake Previously Revealed Why She Left Her Talk Show
Ricki Lake revealed watching the 9/11 attacks changed her life.
Ricki's return to acting comes after she previously opened up about the personal reasons she decided to walk away from her successful talk show.
She first rose to fame at just 20 years old when she played Tracy Turnblad in John Waters’ 1988 cult classic Hairspray. She went on to become a household name with her daytime talk show Ricki Lake, which ran for 11 seasons during the 1990s.
Ricki has been more selective with acting in recent years.
Her last on-screen acting role came in the 2021 Christmas movie Under the Christmas Tree. She also appeared as herself in the 2022 film Moon Manor.
Ricki Lake last appeared in a movie role in 2021’s 'Under the Christmas Tree.'
The actress previously revealed that the events of September 11, 2001, played a major role in her decision to eventually walk away from her talk show.
“I could have done it for probably a decade longer,” Ricki said during an appearance on the "On Par with Maury Povich" podcast.
"I made that choice. 9/11 was a huge trajectory shift in my life. Every aspect of my life changed from witnessing that experience that day from my West Village apartment," she added.
“I was so freaked out watching that plane fly down the Hudson and hit that building. I had a 2 month old and a 4 year old. So I was a lactating new mother protecting my cubs, you know?” she recalled.
The 58-year-old host said the experience ultimately led her to rethink several major parts of her life.
“I would leave my job and I would ultimately leave my marriage. And it took a lot of planning. It took a couple years to finish my contract. I couldn’t [immediately] walk away from my show, but I knew I wasn’t going to renew beyond the term that I had agreed to,” she said.
