Jerry Springer

Born: February 13 1944
Where: London, UK

The ex-mayor of Cincinnati, news anchor, trailer trash TV host and author has also branched out into the movies.

However, in his two proper acting roles - Ringmaster and Citizen Verdict - the wisecracking television MC has basically played himself.

Born in England, a refugee from the Holocaust, the five-year-old Springer and his family emigrated to America.

After graduating in law, he worked as a presidential campaign aide to Senator Robert F Kennedy.

After the Kennedy assassination, he entered politics himself - spearheading the effort to lower the voting age - and became mayor of Cincinnati in 1977.

Five years later, he launched his TV career, working as an Emmy-award winning journalist on Cincinnati's WLWT-TV.

The Jerry Springer Show - a shameless parade of social misfits - first aired in 1991 and can now be seen across the globe.

In 1998, he made his big screen debut in Ringmaster, a "fictionalised" chronicle of life on a TV show.

Other projects include the hosting of the Miss World Show, the recording of an album in Nashville and popular celebrity speaking gigs.

He also made personal appearances as himself in the X-Files and The Simpsons and also turned up in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

His most recent big screen role was a reality TV producer Marty Rockman in the zoo TV parody Citizen Verdict.