Owen Tyler Sussman is Ricki Lake’s younger son, born June 18, 2001. His home water birth was filmed for the 2008 documentary The Business of Being Born, which Ricki Lake executive-produced. Now 25, Owen has no public social media presence and has not pursued an entertainment career.
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In January 2025, a wildfire destroyed Ricki Lake’s Malibu home — and with it, the original photo album from Owen’s birth. The photos were eventually recovered: a doula who had been present at the birth offered her copies, and an artist found Lake’s family photographs at a flea market and returned them. For someone who has spent his life avoiding the spotlight, Owen’s origin story keeps pulling him back into public view.
Quick Bio
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Owen Tyler Sussman |
| Date of Birth | June 18, 2001 |
| Age (2026) | 25 |
| Birthplace | United States |
| Parents | Ricki Lake (mother), Rob Sussman (father) |
| Stepfather | Ross Burningham (married to Ricki Lake, 2022–present) |
| Siblings | Milo Sebastian Sussman (older brother, born 1997) |
| Known For | Son of Ricki Lake; birth featured in The Business of Being Born (2008) |
Key Events Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Ricki Lake marries Rob Sussman |
| 1997 | Milo Sebastian Sussman born |
| 2001 | Owen Tyler Sussman born via home water birth |
| 2004 | Ricki Lake and Rob Sussman divorce |
| 2008 | The Business of Being Born released |
| 2012 | Ricki Lake marries Christian Evans |
| 2015 | Ricki Lake and Christian Evans divorce |
| 2022 | Ricki Lake marries Ross Burningham |
| 2025 | Palisades Fire destroys Lake’s home; birth photos lost and later recovered |
His Birth Made Him Famous — Before He Could Walk
The Business of Being Born was released in 2008, but Owen’s birth footage was filmed in 2001. The documentary, co-directed by Abby Epstein, made a case for home birth and midwife-assisted delivery at a time when hospital births were the overwhelming norm in the US. Ricki Lake funded the project herself and has called it the most meaningful work of her 37-year career. Owen’s home water birth became the documentary’s most-watched scene.
The film was screened in hospitals, adopted in nursing and midwifery programs, and credited by many mothers with changing their birth plans. It won a number of festival awards and became a reference point in conversations about maternal healthcare choices. Owen had no say in any of it. His earliest moments became part of a public argument before he could speak for himself.
That context shapes everything about how Owen is discussed publicly. He didn’t choose privacy as a brand strategy. He grew up as someone whose most private moment had already been made public without his consent.
His Family Today
Owen’s parents, Ricki Lake and Rob Sussman, married in 1994 and divorced in 2004, when Owen was three. Rob Sussman worked as an illustrator. His older brother, Milo Sebastian Sussman, was born in 1997.
Ricki Lake married Christian Evans in 2012; they divorced in 2015. Evans, who lived with bipolar disorder, died by suicide in 2017. Lake married her current husband, Ross Burningham, in January 2022 at their Malibu home. Burningham is a lawyer — he earned his bachelor’s and master’s in accounting from Brigham Young University before completing a Juris Doctor at BYU Law School, and is now a partner at the Gunderson Dettmer law firm. He and Lake began dating in late 2020 and announced their engagement in February 2021.
Neither Owen nor Milo has pursued a public career or maintained a visible social media presence. Rob Sussman has similarly stayed out of public view since the divorce.
The Birth Photos: Lost and Found
On January 7, 2025, the Pacific Palisades wildfire destroyed Ricki Lake’s Malibu home — the same house where she and Burningham had married three years earlier. Among the losses was the photo album from Owen’s water birth.
“One of the things I lost, among everything I lost, but one of the things that really was so painful for me — I lost my birth videos, my pictures, my album of my home birth to my son. I consider it my most meaningful piece of work I’ve done in my 37-year career, but it’s very personal. It was on my own money, it was my own experience, and when I had my son, I had pictures during that birth. It was a beautiful album. It was really important to me.”
— Ricki Lake
The recovery came in two parts. Jennifer Lickson, one of the doulas present at Owen’s 2001 birth, saw the fire news and reached out to Lake on Facebook, offering to make copies of the birth photos. Lake said she hadn’t spoken to Lickson in years.
Separately, in late 2025, an artist named Patty Scanlon bought a box of photographs at the Pasadena City College Flea Market and recognized Ricki Lake and her son Milo in several of the images. Scanlon posted on Instagram asking how to contact Lake. Within a day, they connected through a joint Instagram Live. The photos had originally been sent by Lake to a friend; Scanlon suggested the friend may have had an estate sale, which would explain how they ended up at the flea market. Lake called the recovery “seriously a miracle.”
The sequence — a birth filmed without the child’s consent, photos nearly lost to wildfire, recovered through strangers — is the kind of story that keeps people searching for Owen Tyler Sussman.
What’s Known About His Life Now
Confirmed details about Owen’s current education, career, or location are not publicly available. Several websites report that he studies technology and environmental sciences and is based in the Chicago area, but these claims trace back to each other, not to a named source.
What is confirmed: as of August 2026, Owen has no verified public social media accounts, no reported entertainment projects, and no public statements attributed to him. His mother has described her sons as central to her life, particularly in the aftermath of the 2025 wildfire, but Owen himself has not spoken publicly.
Why People Keep Searching for Him
People who watched The Business of Being Born are curious about the child they saw being born. That’s a straightforward human response. The documentary had real cultural reach — it shifted conversations about home birth in the US — and Owen is its most visible subject.
The searches also reflect broader curiosity about celebrity children who opt out. Owen is a clear case: no brand deals, no reality TV, no influencer pivot. Whether that’s a principled stance or simply a private person living privately is something only he knows.
The wildfire and photo recovery added another layer. A birth that was filmed, turned into a documentary, nearly lost to a natural disaster, and then recovered through strangers — it’s a narrative that keeps Owen in public conversation without him ever choosing to be there.
FAQs
How old is Owen Tyler Sussman in 2026?
Owen Tyler Sussman is 25. He was born on June 18, 2001.
Is Owen Sussman in The Business of Being Born?
Yes. His home water birth in 2001 was filmed for the documentary, released in 2008. Ricki Lake executive-produced it, and Owen’s birth is one of its central scenes. He was an infant — he had no role in the production.
What happened to Owen Sussman’s birth photos?
The original album was destroyed when the Palisades Fire burned Ricki Lake’s Malibu home on January 7, 2025. A doula from the birth, Jennifer Lickson, later offered copies. Separately, artist Patty Scanlon found Lake’s family photographs at a Pasadena flea market and returned them.
Who is Ricki Lake married to now?
Ricki Lake married Ross Burningham in January 2022. He is her third husband. She was previously married to Rob Sussman (1994–2004) and Christian Evans (2012–2015).
What does Owen Tyler Sussman do now?
No verified information is publicly available about his current career or studies. He has no confirmed public social media presence and has not made public statements about his professional life.
Does Owen Sussman have social media?
No verified accounts have been identified. If private accounts exist, they have not been publicly confirmed as his.
What happened to Ricki Lake’s home in 2025?
The Palisades Fire destroyed Ricki Lake’s Malibu home on January 7, 2025. She and her husband Ross Burningham evacuated with their rescue dog, Dolly. Lake spoke publicly about the loss; Owen’s involvement in the aftermath was not made public.
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