Kristiane Backer
{{Short description|German art dealer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kristiane Backer
| image = Kristiane Backer (cropped).jpg
| caption = Kristiane Backer in 2018
| alt = Kristiane Backer
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1965|12|13}}
| birth_place = Hamburg, West Germany
| nationality = German, British
| occupation = TV presenter, journalist, author
| years_active = 1987–present
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
Kristiane Verena Backer{{cite web|title="Kristiane Verena BACKER - Personal Appointments"|url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/wZ-m2W783EPsNOgvtcmuEIG6bVE/appointments|website=Companies House}} (born 13 December 1965) is a German art dealer with a previous career as a television presenter, journalist and author residing in London.
Biography
At the age of 15, Backer went to the United States as an exchange student for a year.{{cite web|title=Moderatoren - Kristiane Backer: Girl Number One - Medien|url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/musik-tv-moderatoren-die-models-und-die-freaks-1.1104340-6|website=Süddeutsche.de|publisher=Süddeutsche Zeitung|accessdate=2 March 2018|language=DE|date=15 June 2011}}{{cite web|title=Kristiane Backer on Islam and Imran Khan|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yc3PmWVqJs|website=YouTube|accessdate=1 March 2018|date=22 Jul 2017}}
From 1987 to 1989 Backer volunteered at the private radio station Radio Hamburg.{{cite web|title=Experts - Kristiane Backer|url=http://www.fird.org.uk/experts/kristiane-backer/|website=Forum for International Relations Development|accessdate=2 March 2018}}{{cite web|title=Kristiane Backer, German|url=https://voiceovers.mandy.com/uk/voice-artist/profile/kristiane-backer|website=Mandy.com|accessdate=2 March 2018}}
In 1989 she moved to London to work at the then Europe-wide, exclusively English-language TV channel, MTV Europe. 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.{{cite web|title=From MTV to Mecca|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/feature/mtv-mecca-338790|website=The Bookseller|accessdate=2 March 2018|date=5 September 2012}} She remained there until 1996. While still at MTV Europe, she created and moderated the youth program Bravo TV on the German TV channel RTL II from 1993–95.
From 1996 to 1999 she presented the daily cultural programme The Ticket on NBC Europe.
From 2000 to 2009, Backer continued to do TV presenting as well as voiceover work. In 2005 she presented the in-flight music show for Emirate Airlines.
For her work as a television presenter, Backer was awarded a Goldene Kamera award in 1994{{cite web|title=GOLDENE KAMERA 1994 - 29. Verleihung - Chronik & Fakten|url=https://www.goldenekamera.de/preisverleihung/chronik-fakten/article207117071/GOLDENE-KAMERA-1994-29-Verleihung.html?ref=sec|accessdate=2 March 2018}} and in 1993 and 1994 two Bravo Otto awards.{{cite web|title=BRAVO OTTO - SIEGER 1994|url=https://bravo-archiv.de/auswahl.php?link=ottosieger1994.php|website=bravo-archiv.de|accessdate=2 March 2018|language=DE}}{{cite web|title=Official website|url=http://www.kristianebacker.com|accessdate=2 March 2018}}
Backer also hosts and presents conferences, business presentations, and galas throughout Europe.
Personal life
In 1992, Backer began dating former Pakistani cricketer and now former prime minister Imran Khan.{{cite web|title=Former German MTV host promotes Islam with new autobiography|url=http://www.dw.com/en/former-german-mtv-host-promotes-islam-with-new-autobiography/a-4461534|website=Deutsche Welle|accessdate=1 March 2018|date=7 July 2009}}{{cite web|author1=Akbar Ahmed|title=This Former MTV Icon Found Inner Peace Through Islam|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mtv-icon-islam_us_594d9670e4b0da2c731ba7b0|website=Huffington Post|accessdate=1 March 2018|date=1 November 2017}} He gave her books on Islam and took her travelling with him through Pakistan. 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4461534,00.html |title=Former German MTV host promotes Islam with new autobiography |work=dw-world.de |accessdate=2 November 2016}}{{cite web |url=http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-43208-3.html |title=Kristiane Backer: from MTV to Mecca |work=spiegel.de |accessdate=2 November 2016}}{{cite web |url=https://www.welt.de/fernsehen/article3852434/Wie-MTV-Diva-Kristiane-Backer-nach-Mekka-kam.html?page=1 |title=MTV-Diva Kristiane Backer |work=welt.de |accessdate=2 November 2016 |language=de}}
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.{{cite news|title=Von MTV nach Mekka – Die Wandlung von Kristiane Backer|url=http://www.rp-online.de/panorama/leute/die-wandlung-von-kristiane-backer-aid-1.2016572|accessdate=1 March 2018|work=Rheinische Post|date=18 June 2009|language=de}} She and Jaafar later divorced. Backer lives in London and works as a fine art consultant.
== 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}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commonscat}}
- {{Official website}}
- {{IMDb name|0045641}}
- [https://www.islamische-zeitung.de/interview-der-islam-ist-sehr-zugaenglich/ "Der Islam ist sehr zugänglich"], interview with the Islamische Zeitung {{in lang|de}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120322092201/http://matters-of-faith.tv/?page_id=25 Kristiane Backer] on the Matters of Faith website
- [http://www.r-islam.com/en/index.php/rs-articles/converting-to-islam/famous/565-christina-backer-from-mtv-to-mecca Kristiane Backer, from MTV to Mecca]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backer, Kristiane}}
Category:German former Christians
Category:Converts to Islam from Protestantism
Category:German emigrants to England
Category:German women television presenters