Having played Dr. Snapper Foster on the soap opera The Young and the Restless for six years (and around this time he posed for a series of now infamous and much sought after posters wearing only a leather jacket and black bikini briefs), he went on to star as Michael Knight in the Glen A. Larson-created series Knight Rider from 1982 to 1986. He launched his singing career with guest appearances on the children's program Kids Incorporated. He also obtained permission to produce a Knight Rider episode ("Let It Be Me") focused on his singing talents, which served as a springboard for his 1985 debut album Night Rocker.

Once having solidified his position as an actor, David Hasselhoff attempted to cross over into the music industry and made his debut with the 1985 album Night Rocker while still working on the show. After two moderately successful albums, he recorded "Looking for Freedom" in the summer of 1989 and released just as the Berlin Wall came down.

In Germany, his song became an anthem of sorts at the time, and the album went gold and triple platinum, topping the charts for three months whilst the single managed a mere eight weeks. He was later announced as the best selling artist of 1989 in Germany even prompting the newspaper headline "Hasselhoff: not since the Beatles". Since then another six of his albums have gone platinum in Europe.
Hasselhoff and Catherine Hickland in the Knight Rider episode "Let It Be Me", which helped launch Hasselhoff's singing career

Norm MacDonald, Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update newscaster, had a popular running joke that always ended with "Which once again proves my theory - the Germans love David Hasselhoff".

In early 2005, it was reported that Hasselhoff had teamed with rapper Ice-T and was planning to record a rap album under the handle of Hassel the Hoff[2]. As of the end of 2005, the recording had not been released. In fact, Ice-T went on Late Night with Conan O'Brien to confirm that he was not involved in any such project. In June 2006 Hasselhoff confirmed that the project was a "prefabrication" on The Kevin and Bean Show on KROQ, Los Angeles.

His contract stipulated royalties to be paid to him from the rerun profits, which gave him the financial liberty to buy back the rights to Baywatch from NBC.

Baywatch had premiered in 1989, but was cancelled after only one season. Feeling the series had potential, Hasselhoff revived it for the first-run syndication market in 1991, investing his own money and additionally functioning as executive producer.

The success of Baywatch was enormous. Running for another ten seasons, it was also well-received internationally and is said to be the highest-grossing show in syndication worldwide. It has been shown in over 140 countries around the world.

This success combined with his royalties and his other ventures have placed Hasselhoff's fortune at more than $100m.

In 1994, he was scheduled to perform a concert on pay-per-view from Atlantic City. It was supposed to help reignite his singing career in the United States. On the night of his concert, O.J. Simpson was involved in a police chase on the California highway. People who were watching the concert switched over to watch the news. Since then, Hasselhoff has not attempted another concert.

In 1995, he and Kathy Ireland were among the first celebrities to watch the first ever Toronto Raptors regular season basketball game in Toronto.

In 1996, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2004, Hasselhoff played the lead role in London performances of Chicago, for three months, starting July 16.

Hasselhoff has made several self-parodic appearances in movies. He had a cameo appearance in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, released November 19, 2004, starring as himself (though very much in bygone Baywatch character) and meeting SpongeBob and Patrick. He also had another short appearance in the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story as, fittingly, the dodgeball coach to the East German national dodgeball team. Scolding his team to play better, he shouts "Ihr seid alle schweine!" (translated: "You are all pigs!") and smashes a photo of himself in his Baywatch attire. In 2004's Eurotrip, Hasselhoff lip-syncs his song "Du" in a fantasy sequence.

David presented a musical award with Gretel Killeen at the ARIA's on Sunday October 23, 2005 in Sydney, and during the course of the night, he was apparently French kissed in a celebratory fashion by musician, Ben Lee. He was recently signed to Pepsi appearing in a massive outdoor campaign in January 2006. David will also tour Australia with his band mid-2006.

He will next appear as Adam Sandler's despicable boss in Click.

Hasselhoff has also become something of an internet phenomenon / figure of fun. Numerous websites  have appeared and there is currently a campaign to get "the Hoff" to a number 1 spot in the UK singles charts .

In May 2006, Hasselhoff returned to the spotlight after he was mentioned in an interview of NBA star and native of Germany, the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk was asked what he does to concentrate when shooting foul shots. Dirk's replied that he sings "Looking for Freedom" to himself. Shortly thereafter, Hasselhoff attended the May 26, 2006 Mavericks home playoff game where they faced the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Western Conference Finals. Interviewed by Craig Sager, Hasselhoff stated he was as much a fan of Nowitzki as Nowitzki was a fan of him.

Also in May 2006, Hasselhoff was shown on American Idol, openly crying after Taylor Hicks was announced as the next American Idol. This has become fodder for late night talk show hosts such as Jay Leno.

After failing out of Atlanta's Marist School, Hasselhoff attended and graduated high school at Lyons Township High School, with campuses located in Western Springs, Illinois and La Grange, Illinois. He participated in many extracurricular acting and singing events at the world renowned "Corral" near-by the south campus of Lyons Township.

Hasselhoff had been married to actress Pamela Bach since December 9, 1989, with whom he has two daughters, Taylor Ann and Hayley Amber. Although Hasselhoff was raised Roman Catholic, he and his family attend non-denominational church services. He was married to actress Catherine Hickland from March 24, 1984 to March 1, 1989, when they divorced.

On January 13, 2006, Hasselhoff announced his filing for divorce from his wife Pamela Bach after 16 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. His publicist has stated that the couple has agreed to an amicable settlement. However, on March 9, 2006, Bach accused Hasselhoff of violent behavior towards her. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark A. Juhas signed the order March 6, 2006 ordering the former "Baywatch" star to stay at least 100 yards from Bach except for "peaceful contacts related to court ordered visitation" of one their two teenage daughters. Pamela is seeking sole custody of their two daughters.

Hasselhoff's memoir, called "Making Waves," will be released in the UK in September 2006. In an interview in April 2006, he promised that the book will present the "last chapter" regarding controversial elements of his personal life.

Hasselhoff received media attention in 2003/2004 for an alleged drinking problem. He attended a rehabilitation program in 2002, at the Betty Ford Center.

His problems with alcohol abuse apparently continued, as he was arrested on June 5, 2004, on suspicion on driving while intoxicated as a misdemeanor Los Angeles.

On October 28, 2004, his lawyer entered his no contest plea while he was absent from the court hearing. He was fined $390 (due to California's "Alcohol Abuse Education and Prevention Assessment" law, and other fees, the total amount paid to the court is assumed to be over $1400), sentenced to self-supervised probation for 3 years, ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings twice a week for 6 months, spend six months in a DUI program (several hundred more dollars), and to perform 200 hours of community service. While his driver's license was restricted for the next 90 days, he could drive only to his work, to take his children to school, and to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.