From chasing thugs down the beach on "Baywatch" to flexing his dramatic muscle in Broadway productions such as "Jekyll and Hyde," David Hasselhoff has been in the public eye continually since debuting on the soap opera "The Young and the Restless" in 1975.

Hasselhoff -- born in Baltimore July 17, 1952 -- transitioned to prime time in 1982 when he took on the role of Michael Knight, an ex-cop with an outrageously cool car, on the hit drama "Knight Rider." When the series ended, Hasselhoff headed to Europe to pursue another longtime interest: singing.

Although Hasselhoff turned into a huge musical star in Europe (becoming Germany's Elvis), he wasn't able to parlay that success into a singing career stateside. Instead, he continued to work predominantly in television and occasionally in films such as SpongeBob SquarePants: The Movie (2004) and 2006's Click. ... - from Netflix