Famous German Media Personalities

Helene Fischer is a German singer, dancer, actress, and TV presenter. She attended the Frankfurt Stage & Musical School to study singing and acting. She made her debut in 2005 and found immediate success. Eventually, she started singing in English as well. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including 17 Echo awards and four "Krone der Volksmusik" prizes. 

American-born fascist politician William Joyce was a Nazi propaganda broadcaster to UK during World War II. He later became a German citizen. As a young man, he joined the British Union of Fascists (BUF) and rose through the ranks to become the BUF's Director of Propaganda. Following the end of World War II, he was arrested for treason and executed.

After being rejected by a dance school, Traudl Junge ditched her plan of becoming a ballerina and mastered typing instead. She later served as Adolf Hitler’s typist and was the youngest of his secretaries. After staying silent for years, she eventually revealed her experience to Austrian filmmaker Andre Heller.

German-born John Peter Zenger moved to New York at 13 and joined the printing business immediately. He later gained fame with the New York Weekly Journal, which often attacked governor William Cosby, resulting in Zenger’s arrest. His acquittal in the libel suit is regarded as a landmark case in press freedom.

New Zealand-born Dutch sailor Laura Dekker was 14 when she began her path-breaking solo journey around the world aboard a ketch named Guppy. At 16, she reached the Caribbean and thus became the youngest person to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world. She later published a book on her experiences.

Gerda Taro was a German Jewish war photographer who was active during the Spanish Civil War. As a young woman, she became interested in Leftist politics. She then became involved with photographer Robert Capa and began her own career in photojournalism. She died in 1937 while covering the frontline during the Spanish Civil War.  

German anti-Semitic völkisch poet, playwright, journalist, publicist, and political activist Dietrich Eckart, one of Adolf Hitler's earliest mentors who Hitler acknowledged as the spiritual co-founder of Nazism, founded German Workers' Party, the precursor of Nazi Party. Eckart was the original publisher of the Nazi Party newspaper Völkischer Beobachter, and lyricist of Sturmlied, the de facto anthem of the Sturmabteilung.

Kurt Eisner was a German politician, theatre critic, journalist, and revolutionary. He is credited with organizing the Socialist Revolution, which played an important role in overthrowing Bavaria's Wittelsbach monarchy in 1918. His role in the Socialist Revolution made him a symbol of the Bavarian revolution.

German-American economist Friedrich List is remembered as one of the pioneers of the historical school of economics. He supported tariffs on imported goods to help the domestic market. He is also known for his pamphlet Outlines of American Political Economy and his book The National System of Political Economy.

Turkish-German actor Nur Fettahoğlu is best known for her performance as Mahidevran Sultan in the series Muhtesem Yüzyil, which has earned her several awards, such as the Beirut International Award for Best International Actress. She also holds a fashion design degree. She has also been a Sky Türk anchor.

Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim is a German chemist, television presenter, science communicator, and YouTuber. A multi-talented personality, Nguyen-Kim has won many prestigious awards such as the Grimme Online Award, Georg von Holtzbrinck Prize for Science Journalism, Hanns Joachim Friedrichs Award, and Heinz Oberhummer Award for Science Communication.

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs was a German lawyer, journalist, jurist, and writer. Today, he is widely regarded as a pioneer of the modern gay rights movement and sexology. Ulrichs is considered the first openly gay man in the history of mankind. In August 1867, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs urged the goverment to revoke anti-homosexual laws, becoming the first homosexual to do so.