What Is Katarina Witt's Net Worth?
Katarina Witt is a German retired figure skater, model, writer, and producer who has a net worth of $9 million. Katarina Witt has earned her net worth through years of figure skating competitions, her appearances on television and in films, and as the author of the 1994 autobiography "Meine Jahre zwischen Pflicht und Kür" ("My Years between Compulsories and Freestyle") and the 2005 novel "Only With Passion." Witt has won two Olympic gold medals, and she is considered to be one of the best ladies' singles figure skaters in the history of the sport. She also won several gold medals at the World Figure Skating Championships and European Figure Skating Championships before retiring from amateur skating in 1988.
Katarina came out of retirement to compete in the 1994 Winter Olympics, where she won the Goldene Kamera award. In 1989, Witt began acting with a role in the film "Carmen on Ice," which earned her a Primetime Emmy. She starred in and co-wrote the 1996 TV movie "Die Eisprinzessin" ("The Ice Princess"), and she has also appeared in the films "Jerry Maguire" (1996) and "Ronin" (1998) and the television series "Everybody Loves Raymond" (1997), "Arli$$" (1997–1998), "Nikola" (1999), "V.I.P." (2000), and "Legal Affairs" (2021). Katarina served as a co-producer and host of the 2006 German TV show "Stars auf Eis" ("Stars on Ice"), and in 2012, she was a judge on the British series "Dancing on Ice." She was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1995.
Early Life
Katarina Witt was born on December 3, 1965, in Falkensee, East Germany. She is the daughter of physiotherapist Käthe Witt and farmer Manfred Witt, and she has a brother named Axel. Katarina attended the Kinder- und Jugendsportschule, a type of school for children who are athletically gifted children, in Karl-Marx-Stadt.
Career
Katarina represented East Germany's (GDR) SC Karl-Marx-Stadt club, and in 1977, Jutta Müller became her coach. Witt began training six days a week, and in 1979, she competed in the European Figure Skating Championships, finishing in 14th place. In 1981, she placed first in the short program, second in the combined free skate, and third in the long program at the World Figure Skating Championships. In 1982, Witt won silver medals at the World Championships and the European Championships. She won her first-ever gold medal at the 1983 European Championships, and in 1984, she took home the gold at the Winter Olympics, World Championships, and European Championships. That year readers of the newspaper "Junge Welt" voted Katarina GDR Female Athlete of the Year. Witt won gold medals at the European Championships in 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988 and the World Championships in 1985, 1987, and 1988. She won a silver medal at the 1986 World Championships. Katarina won her second Olympic gold medal in 1988, and later that year a block of stamps honoring her victory was released in North Korea. That year Witt retired from amateur skating and began a professional skating career. She toured with fellow Olympic champion Brian Boitano for three years in the show "Witt and Boitano Skating," which sold out Madison Square Garden in New York City. Katarina later joined "Holiday on Ice" and appeared in the 1989 film "Carmen on Ice." In 1994, she briefly returned to competitive skating, appearing in the German Championships, European Championships, and Winter Olympics. Her most recent skating tour occurred in 2008.
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In 1996, Witt appeared in the film "Jerry Maguire," and she followed it with guest-starring roles on the CBS sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond" (1997) and the HBO series "Arli$$" (1997–1998) and a small supporting role in the action thriller "Ronin" (1998). She starred in the 1996 German TV movie "Die Eisprinzessin" ("The Ice Princess") and performed the theme song, "Skate with Me." Katarina posed nude for the December 1998 issue of "Playboy" magazine, and it became the second issue to sell out (the first was the publication's inaugural issue, which featured photos of Marilyn Monroe). In a 2012 interview with "The Telegraph," Witt said of her decision to pose for the magazine, "After 10 very successful years as a professional skater I felt stuck with a cute, pretty, ice princess image. I wanted to change people's perceptions but it was important that the pictures were sensual so I chose natural settings, the beach and in water where it was completely natural to have no clothes rather than be provocative in stockings or sexy lingerie. It worked and to me the biggest compliment was that more women than men bought the magazine." Katarina hosted the TV series "Stars auf Eis" ("Stars on Ice") in 2006, and in 2012, she served as a judge on "Dancing on Ice." In 2013, she played the lead role in the German TV movie "Der Feind in meinem Leben" ("The Enemy in My Life").
Personal Life
Katarina married discus thrower Rainer Schmidt in 1989, and they had a son, Felix (born 1990), before divorcing in 1992. Witt wed businessman Wolfgang Staudinger in 2002, and they welcomed daughters Anna-Maria and Sophia in 2003 and 2005, respectively.
Awards
Witt won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Performance in Classical Music/Dance Programming for "Carmen on Ice" in 1990 and the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award in 1996. In 1994, she won Germany's Golden Camera award for Sports, and in 2003, she earned a German Golden Hen Award for Entertainment for "Die DDR-Show." For skating, Katarina won two Olympic gold medals, six World Figure Skating Championship medals (four gold, two silver), and seven European Figure Skating Championship medals (six gold, one silver).
