Lauren Lake

Lauren Laniece Lake (born July 12, 1969 ) is an American family lawyer, television judge, and talk show presenter.

Lake has performed in guest hosting and news anchoring positions for various talk shows and reality legal programs.

In much of her guest hosting, she has discussed racial, ethnic, gender, and political issues.

She was the host of HGTV's how-to series “Spice Up My Kitchen“.

Lake is best known for arbitrating as the presiding judge over her own tabloid talk/nontraditional courtroom series, Lauren Lake's Paternity Court.

Lake attended Mercy High School in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and was a National Merit Scholar in 1986.

In May 1990, Lake earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

She earned a secondary teacher certification that same year.

In May 1993, Lake earned a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, Michigan.

She paid for her college education by singing on the weekends.

In June 1995, she was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan and began her law career as a criminal defense attorney.

In 1999, Lake relocated to New York City to work in entertainment.

She sang background for Mary J. Blige, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg.

Lake also began writing, recording, and publicly performing her own music, eventually creating her own production company.

Lake appeared on To Live and Date in New York, which chronicled the dating lives of New York women.

The series aired on Women's Entertainment Channel as "Single in the City."

Lake served as a correspondent, expert and life coach on The Greg Behrendt Show and as a legal and relationship expert and life coach on The Ricki Lake Show, for two seasons.

She also served as field correspondent, makeover specialist, and judge on The Ricki Lake Show.

Lake has made guest appearances on Dr. Phil and The View as a legal expert.

She has 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.

Lake has served as a guest host/anchor and legal analyst for MSNBC and TruTV.

In June 2002, she was admitted to the New York State Bar Association and the New Jersey State Bar Association, where her practice is predominantly devoted to entertainment and family law.

Lake began designing professionally after graduating from law school.

Since 2005, Lake has been a regular on-air commentator on CNN, Headline News, Fox News Channel, and CNBC.

Between May 2007 through 2009, Lake hosted 47 episodes of HGTV's how-to show Spice Up My Kitchen.

Lake has acknowledged her lack of formal design training, stating that it allows her to think outside the box.

Lake presided over her own tabloid talk/courtroom series, Lauren Lake's Paternity Court, which began on September 23, 2013, and was produced by MGM Television.

and ran for 8 seasons until it was cancelled in 2021.

Lake heard and decided paternity cases and rendered DNA test results.

Lake has frequently participated as a guest legal expert on Power 105.1 FM.

She has also been a regular guest on the Tom Joyner Morning Show and Michael Baisden radio show.

She has been a guest on WBLS New York, and guest on-air host for Radio One's WDBZ in Cincinnati.

In June 2021, Entertainment Studios ordered a revival of the daily court show We the People with Lake taking over for Gloria Allred.

She was also the subject of an episode of Modern Hero in 2017.

Lake is also a regular contributor to Black Entertainment Television's Meet the Faith and My Two Cents.

She has participated in TLC shows such as While You Were Out and Trading Spaces.

The series ran 7 seasons and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award five times, including a win in 2019.

Lake was born in Detroit, Michigan.

Describing her parents, Lake said, "These were Black people who fought their way through, one Ph.D. at a time, so they were big on education."

As a child, Lake sang, danced, and acted in plays.