Sabine Christiansen

She started out in her hometown, finished high school in ’76, and then spent seven years flying around as a Lufthansa stewardess. Media life kicked off in 1983 when she snagged a traineeship at Norddeutscher Rundfunk, splitting her time between Kiel and Hamburg. She moved up fast—landed a business editor gig, started presenting the “Hamburg-Journal,” and by August ’87, just shy of her 30th birthday, she became co-presenter of “Tagesthemen.” Folks really noticed her for that calm, objective style. “Miss Tagesthemen,” they called her. Awards? Oh, plenty. The “Golden Camera,” the Bavarian Television Prize, and later the “Special Honor” from the Adolf Grimme Institute—pretty much the top of the heap. She switched gears in ’93, launching her own report series and even published a book about her travels and encounters across the globe. By ’95, she’d gotten married (that didn’t last) and was ready for something new. In ’98, she walked away from “Tagesthemen” and debuted her own Sunday night talk show, which became a staple—four million viewers wasn’t unusual. She had a film cameo, moderated political debates, and stood pretty firm against giving neo-Nazi politicians airtime. On top of that, she worked with Unicef, especially after the 2004 tsunami. She even got to interview George W. Bush, which, let’s be real, was a big deal for German TV. Eventually, she decided to leave the show and moved to Paris, remarried, and stepped out of the limelight—at least for a while.