Michelle Hunziker is a Swiss and Italian television presenter and former model, born in 1977 in Sorengo in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. She began her career as a fashion model in Milan before moving into television in Italy, where she gained popularity with comedy and variety shows. She later worked on German and Swiss programmes, including the German talk and music format Wetten, dass..? and the Sanremo Music Festival. In 2025 she co-hosted the final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel.
Television career
After her early modelling work, Hunziker was discovered by an Italian television producer and presented several Rai and Mediaset programmes in the late 1990s, including the comedy show Paperissima Sprint and the fashion series Nonsolomoda. She also took acting roles in Italian television and film and appeared in musicals. Her work extended to Switzerland and Germany, where she hosted lifestyle, awards and talent shows, among them the German version of Pop Idol, Deutschland sucht den Superstar.
Later work and recognition
Hunziker joined the German programme Wetten, dass..? in 2009 and hosted the Sanremo Music Festival in 2007 and again in 2018. In 2025 she co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest final in Basel with Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer. She also released an English-language album in 2006, which was sold only in German-speaking countries, and her Italian work earned her the Italian television award for Discovery of the Year in 2001.