Claudia Winkleman Biography

(Television presenter)

Birthday: January 15, 1972 (Capricorn)

Born In: London, England

Claudia Winkleman is an English television presenter, radio personality, film critic and journalist who is most known for co-hosting Strictly Come Dancing along with Tess Daly since 2014. She initially presented the companion show Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two and then moved to present the Sunday night result show before taking up the hosting duties of the main show. Apart from Strictly Come Dancing, she has hosted a variety of BBC television shows including The Great British Sewing Bee, The Film Show and The Eurovision Song Contest. Additionally, she has been associated with BBC Radio 2 too and has presented Claudia Winkleman's Arts Show and Claudia on Sunday. In 2020, for the same channel, she picked up the hosting duties of Saturday morning show after Graham Norton’s exit. Her career as a journalist began as a travel writer, after which she penned articles on wider lifestyle topics. The publications she has written for include Sunday TimesThe Independent, Cosmopolitan and Tatler. Recently, she published her first book Quite: Love, Life And Eyeliner and began co-hosting her podcast – How Did We Get Here? – on parenting and family issues.

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Quick Facts

British Celebrities Born In January

Also Known As: Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman

Age: 52 Years, 52 Year Old Females

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Kris Thykier

father: Barry Winkleman

mother: Eve Pollard

siblings: James Lloyd, Justin Lloyd, Oliver Lloyd, Rachael Lloyd, Sophie Winkleman

children: Arthur Thykier, Jake Thykier, Matilda Martha Thykier

Born Country: England

TV Presenters British Women

Height: 5'5" (165 cm), 5'5" Females

City: London, England

More Facts

education: New Hall, Cambridge

awards: Glamour Award for Presenter

  • 1

    What is Claudia Winkleman's signature style?

    Claudia Winkleman is known for her distinctive style, often opting for a black fringe, heavy eyeliner, and minimalistic outfits.

  • 2

    How did Claudia Winkleman become famous?

    Claudia Winkleman rose to fame through her work as a television presenter, hosting popular shows such as "Strictly Come Dancing" and "The Great British Sewing Bee."

  • 3

    Does Claudia Winkleman have any beauty tips?

    Claudia Winkleman has shared that she prefers a simple beauty routine, focusing on bold eyeliner and minimal makeup for a signature look.

  • 4

    What are Claudia Winkleman's favorite TV shows?

    Claudia Winkleman has expressed her love for a variety of TV shows, including dramas such as "Fleabag" and reality competitions like "RuPaul's Drag Race."

  • 5

    How does Claudia Winkleman balance her work and personal life?

    Claudia Winkleman has spoken about the importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing time with her family while also dedicating herself to her successful television career.

Childhood & Early Life

Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman was born on 15th January 1972 in London in a Jewish family to Eve Pollard and Barry Winkleman. Her father was a book publisher (published Times Atlas of the world) and her mother was the former editor of the Sunday Express.

Her parents separated while she was still very young, and went on to remarry – her father to the children's author Cindy Black and mother to former editor of the Daily Express, Nicholas Lloyd.

She has a younger half-brother named, Oliver, and a half-sister named Sophie Winkleman (actress).

She grew up in Hampstead and for her education went to the independent City of London School for Girls. Later, she joined the prestigious Murray Edwards College, Cambridge from where she completed her MA Hons in History of Art.

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Career

Claudia Winkleman began her journalism career as a travel writer in 1991 and wrote for numerous publications like The Sunday Times, The Independent and Metro. Later, as her television career developed, she shifted more towards lifestyle writing and published her articles with Cosmopolitan and Tatler.

In 1991, Claudia Winkleman appeared in her first significant television show, a regional discussion programme called Central Weekend.

The following year, she made an entry into BBC’s long running travel series Holiday and continued to make an appearance in the show quite frequently throughout the mid-1990s.

The 1990s also saw her working as a reporter on This Morning as well as hosting television shows like God's Gift,�Pyjama Party,Talking Telephone Numbers, Fanorama and Tricky.

From 2002 to 2004, she became the host of BBC Three’s�Liquid News, a show presenting daily updates from entertainment industry.

In between in 2003, she joined BBC Three’s talent reality show Fame Academy and presented updates from it. She reprised her role in its spinoff celebrity version Comic Relief Does Fame Academy in 2005 and picked up the lead presenting role in the 2007 series

The year 2004 saw her picking up the hosting responsibilities of Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two, the weekday companion show of celebrity dance reality competition show, Strictly Come Dancing, and continued with it till 2010. After this, she began co-hosting the Sunday night results show with Tess Daly and continues with it till date.

From 2005 to 2008, her writing career too continued as she wrote a weekly column – Take It From Me – for The Independent.

In 2005, she began hosting BBC Three reality TV Series documentary The House of Tiny Tearaways and presented four series of it till 2007.

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The year 2007 saw her becoming one of the presenters of a television short documentary Concert for Diana: The Princes' Interview and a television special documentary Concert for Diana.

The same year, along with Graham Norton, she co-hosted Eurovision Dance Contest, the inaugural edition of Eurovision Dance competition organised by European Broadcasting Union and BBC.

Yet again in 2007, she hosted the Sky Movie Premiere's live coverage of both Academy Awards (in 2008 too) and Golden Globe Awards.

In 2008, she co-hosted Eurovision: Your Decision (selection process show to finalise UK’s entry into Eurovision Song Contest) together with Terry Wogan and the final leg of Sport Relief 2008 together with Patrick Kielty.

Additionally, she narrated BBC Three’s television series documentary Glamour Girls.

In April-May 2008, Winkleman presented BBC Radio 2 celebrity gossip quiz series Hot Gossip.

From 2008 to 2013, she hosted Claudia Winkleman's Arts Show for BBC Radio 2 wherein she conducted interviews with personalities from art world and also presented reviews and debates.

In 2009, she was assigned to host the fourth season of ITV1’s cookery reality show Hell's Kitchen.

The following year, she was hired as the co-presenter of BBC’s flagship cinema review television programme The Film Show (the show’s title is modified annually to include the broadcast year). She continued with the show till 2016.

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Between 2013 and 2016, she took up the hosting duties of BBC Two’s reality sewing competition show, The Great British Sewing Bee, wherein talented amateur sewers competed with each other for the title of Britain's best home sewer.

In 2014, together with hosting the Sunday night results show, she began co-hosting the main Strictly Come Dancing show with Tess Daly. She currently continues to host the show.

In 2016, she started hosting BBC Radio 2 Sunday night show, Claudia on Sunday, and continued with till March 2020 when the show concluded.

In 2016 again, she became the new weekly style columnist for The Sunday Times.

In 2018, she co-presented BBC Radio 2 show The Biggest Weekend. Over the years, she also served as the stand-in presenter for various BBC Radio 2 shows in the absence of main presenter. These include Dermot O'Leary, Ken Bruce and Steve Wright in the Afternoon.

Between 2018 and 2020, she presented two seasons of BBC’s cooking competition reality show Britain's Best Home Cook.

In 2020, she wrote and released her first book Quite: Love, Life And Eyeliner which became a Sunday Times best seller.Beginning January 2020, she co-hosts a podcast called How Did We Get Here?, together with clinical psychologist, Tanya Byron. This podcast by Somethin’ Else deals with family and parenting issues.

In November 2020, she was roped in to present Saturday Morning show on BBC Radio 2 in place of Graham Norton.

Claudia Winkleman is a huge supporter of British charity Comic Relief and has worked as its co-presenter from 2009 to 2015. She has also co-presented its biennial charity event Sport Relief from 2010 to 2018.

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She has presented numerous award functions over the years including the British Fashion Awards, the Purple Apple Awards, Drapers Etail Awards, the HSBC Awards, GQ Food & Drink Awards and the Glamour: Women of the Year Award.

She is also the face of shampoo brand, Head & Shoulders, and has launched her own make up range for Marks and Spencer including a soft black kohl eyeliner.

Awards & Achievements

In 2015, for her work in Strictly Come Dancing, she picked up the Glamour Award for Presenter of The Year (with Tess Daly) and Royal Television Award for Best Entertainment Presenter.

Family & Personal Life

Claudia Winkleman married film producer Kris Thykier in the year 2000 in a secret wedding ceremony. The couple have three children, Jake, Matilda and Arthur.

Facts About Claudia Winkleman

Claudia Winkleman is known for her signature blunt fringe hairstyle, which has become her trademark look over the years.

She is a big fan of accessorizing her outfits with bold, statement jewelry pieces, adding an extra touch of glamour to her fashion sense.

Claudia has a quirky habit of always wearing black outfits when hosting the popular TV show "Strictly Come Dancing," a tradition that has become somewhat of a superstition for her.

She is known for her quick wit and humorous comebacks, often making light-hearted jokes and banter with guests on her talk shows.

Claudia is a self-professed lover of all things sparkly and glittery, adding a touch of sparkle to her wardrobe and makeup choices whenever she can.

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Article Title
- Claudia Winkleman Biography
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URL
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