About
Katharina Kuhlmann was born on 1 July 1977 in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany. She first stepped into the public eye as a fashion model and quickly became a familiar face to German car-culture fans when she began hosting motor-sport and tuning programmes on the sports channel DSF (now Sport1) between 2004 and 2007. Her mix of down-to-earth humour and clear enthusiasm for fast cars helped the shows “Tuning TV,” “Motorvision,” and later “Turbo Top 10” win loyal audiences. Today she still appears at auto events, creates catalogue shoots for performance-parts brands, and promotes drift racing, a discipline she loves for its emphasis on car control rather than raw speed.
Before Fame
Although TV work made her a household name, Katharina’s break arrived a year earlier at Tuning World Bodensee, Germany’s biggest tuning fair. Judges crowned her “Miss Tuning 2003,” a title that opened doors to photo shoots, sponsorship deals and, crucially, screen tests for motoring formats.
Long before magazine covers and television studios, she was the teenager who swapped city life for Lake Constance in 1992. Renovating her grandmother’s overgrown property near Überlingen gave her a taste for hands-on projects—and a garage big enough for the restored classics she was already tinkering with. The move south also placed her close to Friedrichshafen’s thriving tuning scene, setting the stage for that life-changing pageant win.
Trivia
- Maxim & Playboy: A Maxim spread in 2004 and Playboy’s October 2007 cover introduced her to an international readership.
- The Wellness Car: In 2011 she unveiled a Mercedes-Benz SL 500 retro-fitted with an “electro-therapy” module designed to keep drivers alert and relaxed—billed as the world’s first “Wellness Car.”
- Digital Avatar: Codemasters immortalised her as an in-game character in the racing title Race Driver: GRID (2008), where players could hire her as a team driver.
- Quiz-Show Champion: Long before steering race cars, she steered answers—winning 10,000 DM on the quiz show “Risiko” in 2000, proving a quick mind goes with the quick reflexes.
- Entrepreneurial Streak: Since 2009 she has run Kuhlmann Productions, creating automotive TV formats and branded content.
Family Life
Katharina is open about trading red-carpet bustle for a countryside rhythm. She renovated her grandmother’s house near the Bodensee and now shares the land with two horses, three rescue dogs and a talkative kakadu.
Her love for animals led her to embrace vegan living in 2010 and to become a long-time ambassador for PETA Germany.
While she keeps romantic relationships private, she often credits her mother and late grandmother for encouraging curiosity and compassion. Friends note that Sunday family lunches have simply evolved into alfresco vegan picnics where four-legged family members are always invited.
Associated With
Katharina’s screen career intertwined with several well-known automotive personalities. She co-hosted “Tuning TV” alongside Swiss racer-presenter Christina Surer and mechanic-turned-presenter Lina van de Mars, forming one of Germany’s first all-female gear-head line-ups.
In 2006 she paired with music-channel favourite Mola Adebisi to front “Martial Arts Xtreme,” bringing her energetic style to combat-sports coverage.
Away from television, she collaborates with animal-rights groups, often appearing at PETA campaigns beside activists such as fellow vegan author Ralf Moeller. On track days she mentors young drift drivers and remains friends with Nürburgring legend (and fellow blonde car enthusiast) Sabine Schmitz’s circle, continuing the tradition of encouraging women in German motor sport.
