David Hasselhoff's life – huge net worth, famous daughter, alcohol battle and pop career

Hollywood icon and TV star David Hasselhoff turns 70 years old today (July 17).

The Baywatch and Knight rider actor has delighted generations of fans for more than forty years, later being named the “most watched man on TV.”

From cameos in huge Hollywood films and appearing as a guest judge on some of the biggest talent shows, there is nothing that “The Hoff” has not done.

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However away from our screens, David Hasselhoff has also led a very interesting life – including a stellar pop career, the unexpected way he met his wife and having two famous daughters.

As David Hasselhoff celebrates his 70th birthday, Daily Star takes a look at the star’s life.

World record breaker and huge net worth

David Hasselhoff, or “The Hoff” as he is more fondly known, has been a Hollywood icon since the eighties, when he landed on TV screens as Michael Knight in the much loved series Knight Rider – alongside his talking car Kit.

However, he first made his TV debut at the age of 23 years old in the programme The Young And The Restless, playing Dr Snapper Foster from 1975 to 1982.

After starring in Knight rider from 1982-1986, he later took on another iconic role in the hit series Baywatch, as lifeguard Mitch Buchannon from 1989 to 2000.

Along with his own acting career, David also appeared as a judge on Britains Got Talent and America’s Got Talent, as well as appearing on the eleventh series of Dancing With The Stars.

If that wasn’t all, the actor has also broken a Guinness World Record and was named the most watched man on TV because of his long running career.

Away from TV screens, he has become as iconic as the characters he played, making cameos as himself in films including Guardians Of The Galaxy II, Dodgeball: An Underdog Story, The Spongebob Squarepants Movie and children’s film Hop.

It is no surprise then that the star has an eye-watering estimated net worth of over £83.5million from his stellar career.

Celebrity exes and stunning wife

It is not only fame that David found throughout this career, as he also found romance.

In 1984, he married actress Catherine Hickland, who also starred as his on-screen fiancée in the TV series Knight Rider and sang on his album Night Rocker.

However, the couple split five years later in 1989.

In the same year, David married actress Pamela Bach, who appeared in programmes including Cheers, Baywatch, TJ Hooker and The New Lassie.

The couple was married for more than 17 years and welcomed two daughters called Taylor Ann and Hayley, before filing for divorce in 2006.

Recently David was spotted out and about with his stunning wife Hayley Roberts, who the actor married in 2018.

The actor met Hayley when she attended a recording of the first round of auditions for Britains Got Talent in 2011, and asked him for his autograph, with the couple instantly hitting it off.

Speaking about the moment he married her, David also told OK! Magazine: “This is the very first time I’ve been able to get on my knees and say will you marry me and follow up by getting married from my heart. Hayley has married me for me and it’s a great moment.”

The couple are regularly seen out and about together, with Hayley flaunting her killer curves in a sizzling snap alongside her husband at the Monte Carlo Television Festival earlier this year.

He has also gushed about his wife in interviews, with David telling The Mirror: “Hayley is great.

“She has no interest in the fame side of things and when I bought her a hat recently, she took it back saying it was too expensive.”

Famous daughters

A talent for performance also runs in the family, as both David’s daughters are famous stars.

Hayley Hasselhoff made her TV debut in Baywatch alongside her dad in 1999, and later played Amber in the TV series Huge in 2002.

However, she has since made a career transition into modelling, and recently made history as the first plus-size model to appear on the cover of Playboy in Europe.

Speaking about the cover shoot, she told The Times: “I thought: I’m 28 years old. I have my own rights over my body and I know how I like to celebrate it.

“Size inclusivity is so important for women who may look at Playboy as a magazine that represents an idealistic beauty standard.

“It represents what is desirable and celebrated. So for me to be able to say, ‘That also includes all different body shapes and sizes,’ was an incredible opportunity.”

Like her sister, David’s eldest daughter Taylor also made her acting debut in Baywatch in 1999, before going on to appear in films including More Than Puppy Love, Sunken City and Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens.

She also appeared in the reality TV series Rich Kids Of Beverly Hills.

Alcohol battle

In 2007, a video of a drunk David Hasselhoff was filmed by his daughter Taylor-Ann, to show him the effects that drinking had on his behaviour.

The footage later went public, with the actor releasing a statement at the time saying: “I am a recovering alcoholic.

“Despite that I have been going through a painful divorce and I have recently been separated from my children due to my work, I have been successfully dealing with my issue.

“Unfortunately, I did have a brief relapse, but part of recovery is relapse. Because of my honest and positive relationship with my children, who were concerned for my well-being, there was a tape made when I had a relapse to show me what I was like.

“I have seen the tape. I have learned from it, and I am back on my game.

“I hope that others will learn from the tape, as I have. I thank God for the love and concern from my children. I have the respect of my children and my fans, but most importantly I have self respect.

“I will continue to keep my personal life private for the sake of moving on and living a happy life with my daughters.”

David later credited his daughters with helping to show him the truth about how he was behaving, telling The Standard: “My daughters were instrumental in telling me the truth when I was partying a little too much and being too self-indulgent.”

Pop career

Not only is David Hasselhoff a talented actor, but he has also led a long music career and has released a staggering 14 albums in total.

Following the release of his debut single I Get The Message in 1983, he released the album Night Rocker – but his global success followed five years later with the release of the song Looking for Freedom.

The song was a huge success and reached number one in Germany, with David Hasselhoff later performing the song on New Years Eve 1989 on top of the Berlin Wall.

David Hasselhoff also landed his first UK Top 10 hit in 2006, after he released the song Jump In My Car, which reached number three in the charts.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk