Kristiane Backer

Kristiane Verena Backer^[1] (born 13 December 1965^[1]) is a German art dealer with a previous career as a television presenter, journalist and author residing in London.

Kristiane Backer
Kristiane Backer in 2018
Born	(1965-12-13) 13 December 1965 (age 59)[1] Hamburg, West Germany
Nationality	German, British[1]
Occupation(s)	TV presenter, journalist, author
Years active	1987–present

Biography

At the age of 15, Backer went to the United States as an exchange student for a year.^[2][3]

From 1987 to 1989 Backer volunteered at the private radio station Radio Hamburg.^[4][5]

In 1989 she moved to London to work at the then Europe-wide, exclusively English-language TV channel, MTV Europe.^[5] Backer was the first German to present and VJ there and among the programmes she presented were The Coca-Cola Report, The European Top 20 and Awake on the Wild Side.^[6][5] She remained there until 1996.^[3] While still at MTV Europe, she created and moderated the youth program Bravo TV on the German TV channel RTL II from 1993–95.^[5]

From 1996 to 1999 she presented the daily cultural programme The Ticket on NBC Europe.^[5]

From 2000 to 2009, Backer continued to do TV presenting as well as voiceover work.^[5] In 2005 she presented the in-flight music show for Emirate Airlines.^[5]

For her work as a television presenter, Backer was awarded a Goldene Kamera award in 1994^[7] and in 1993 and 1994 two Bravo Otto awards.^[8][9]

Backer also hosts and presents conferences, business presentations, and galas throughout Europe.^[9]

Personal life

In 1992, Backer began dating former Pakistani cricketer and now former prime minister Imran Khan.^[10][11] He gave her books on Islam and took her travelling with him through Pakistan.^[3] In 1995, she converted to Sunni Islam from Protestantism. The relationship ended after the three years. According to Backer, she and Khan were planning to get married and move to Skardu.^[12][13][14]

She does not wear a headscarf at all times but insists that "women who cover themselves are not discriminated against but respected." In May 2009 she published the book From MTV to Mecca – How Islam Changed My Life.

On 14 April 2006, she married the Moroccan television journalist Rachid Jaafar.^[15] She and Jaafar later divorced.^[15] Backer lives in London and works as a fine art consultant.^[9]

Voice filmography

• 1994: Asterix Conquers America as Ha-Tschi (German Dub)

Publications

• From MTV to Mecca: How Islam Inspired My Life, 2009; ISBN 978-1908129819
• Der Islam als Weg des Herzens: Warum ich Muslima bin, 2010; ISBN 978-3-548-74511-4