RTL presenter Katja Burkard: For her 60th birthday, she wants to let it go

What did Katja Burkard (60) not have to listen to at the beginning of her career: her pronunciation was smiled at, her relationship with the then RTL editor-in-chief Hans Mahr (75). But it demonstrated perseverance. Since 1997 she has been the main moderator of “Point 12 – The RTL -Century Journal”. The program runs so successfully that it has been extended to three hours over the years. And Burkard, who is still lispers, shines with self -irony and self -confidence. Even in view of the 6 before 0, she has no problem. On the contrary: in advance of wanting to celebrate your day of honor “loud, big and colorful”.

In her current book “60 is the new 60: And why it doesn’t hurt at all” she has already dealt extensively with aging. “What should be so bad to be 60? I have a problem with it? Honestly: no. Let’s celebrate our age!” After all, it wasn’t bad to be 60. “We have achieved so much, so much experienced. We shouldn’t spoil this birthday ourselves.”

Rather, there are good reasons to celebrate. Today’s 60-year-old women are a completely different generation than their mothers. “We are healthier and fitter.” And they would have had more opportunities, for example, get work and family under one hat, divorce and be able to do therapy – without being frowned upon. Even beyond the 60 waiting a lot of life, she is convinced of that. “And many won’t be 60,” she said.

A round birthday is often a time to look back on the previous life. And Burkard has largely spent that at the Cologne private broadcaster. After studying German studies and political science in Mainz and Cologne, she first completed a traineeship at Bastei-Verlag, and soon afterwards she began as a reporter for RTL news editories in Cologne. In autumn 1995 she became a moderator and alternately presented the weekend editions of “RTL Aktuell”. Since April 14, 1997, shortly before her 32nd birthday, she has been the main moderator of “Punkt 12”.

In addition, she also tried out in other formats from time to time. In 2009 and 2010 she moderated the show “My first life – I already existed”, played in the “Doctor’s Diary” series in 2011, danced in 2015 at “Let’s Dance”, won in 2021 at “Schlag den Star” against Olivia Jones (55) and appeared in 2022 at “The Masked Singer” as a broccoli. She also published four books, including two picture books for children. 2019 was published “menopause? Don’t panic!”. Even then, the moderator did not take a leaf out of her mouth and openly spoke in many interviews about her complaints and her experience.

In her current book “60 is the new 60”, she also provides private insights. In this way she revealed a tangible relationship crisis with her partner Hans Mahr, with whom she has two daughters (born 2001 and 2007). In 2022 the couple who never married was secretly separated for almost a year. After the break, however, the two came together again. “I believe that our love under a mountain of false assumptions, partly justified accusations, false communication, poor culture of dispute and too little real time was buried for each other.”

Katja Burkard has also said more often on the subject. In a talk show in 2014, she said that she could laugh about the parody of Martina Hill (50) in “Switch Reloaded”. In 2023 she explained that with her speech error, which she initially wanted to fix through speech lessons, she had made her peace. “But I had several hearing stitches in my life and a weakness in the high frequency area. I myself do not hear my S-mistake at all. So I couldn’t work on it. Fortunately, my bosses were behind me and said: Then it is like this.”

The 60-year-old is also open with the topic of beauty interventions. She explained that she was taking Botox “because I don’t want this fitting fold up here”. Otherwise they let them look more strict than it actually was. She gets “pulse” when someone said that aesthetic interventions are not in dignity. One should stop judging women who do something to feel better.