"For me, being memorable is more important than winning"
About this Quote
Ricki Lake’s line lands like a backstage confession in an industry that pretends it’s all about trophies. “Winning” is the official scoreboard: awards, ratings, box-office numbers, the kind of validation that can be tallied and tweeted. “Being memorable” is the unofficial economy: the thing that keeps you circulating in culture long after the night’s winner is forgotten. Lake isn’t rejecting success so much as naming what entertainers learn the hard way - longevity rarely comes from being best on paper; it comes from being hard to replace.
The intent is pragmatic and slightly defiant. As a talk-show figure and pop-culture fixture, Lake built her brand on presence: recognizable, quotable, legible at a glance. That’s not vanity, it’s strategy. Memorability is a hedge against an industry with short attention spans and fickle gatekeepers. “Winning” implies someone else controls the rules. “Memorable” suggests you can write your own.
The subtext also carries a quiet critique of respectability politics in entertainment. Women in particular are told to chase legitimacy - the “serious” win - while the culture simultaneously punishes them for standing out too much. Lake flips the script: she’d rather be a reference point than a credentialed footnote.
Context matters: coming up in the era of tabloid talk, teen films, and personality-driven media, she’s speaking from a world where impact is measured in catchphrases, archetypes, and reruns. It’s a reminder that cultural power often belongs to the people who become shorthand, not the ones who collect plaques.
The intent is pragmatic and slightly defiant. As a talk-show figure and pop-culture fixture, Lake built her brand on presence: recognizable, quotable, legible at a glance. That’s not vanity, it’s strategy. Memorability is a hedge against an industry with short attention spans and fickle gatekeepers. “Winning” implies someone else controls the rules. “Memorable” suggests you can write your own.
The subtext also carries a quiet critique of respectability politics in entertainment. Women in particular are told to chase legitimacy - the “serious” win - while the culture simultaneously punishes them for standing out too much. Lake flips the script: she’d rather be a reference point than a credentialed footnote.
Context matters: coming up in the era of tabloid talk, teen films, and personality-driven media, she’s speaking from a world where impact is measured in catchphrases, archetypes, and reruns. It’s a reminder that cultural power often belongs to the people who become shorthand, not the ones who collect plaques.
Quote Details
| Topic | Legacy & Remembrance |
|---|
More Quotes by Ricki
Add to List
