Stefan Raab facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stefan Raab
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Raab at a Eurovision Song Contest 2010 press conference
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Stefan Konrad Raab
20 October 1966 |
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| Years active | 1990–2015, 2024–present (entertainer) 2018–present (as producer) |
Stefan Konrad Raab, born on October 20, 1966, is a famous German entertainer, TV host, producer, and businessman. From 1999 to 2015, he hosted the popular late-night comedy show TV total on ProSieben. He also created many other successful TV shows for the channel, like Schlag den Raab and Bundesvision Song Contest.
Raab started his TV journey in 1993 by hosting the comedy show Vivasion. He became widely known in 1994 after making a funny hit song about a national football coach. In the early 2010s, many in Germany saw him as a very powerful person in entertainment television.
He is also known for inventing wok racing, a fun sport. Stefan Raab played a big part in Germany's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest from 1998 to 2012. He started the national show Unser Star für Oslo ("Our Star for Oslo"). This show helped choose Lena Meyer-Landrut, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 for Germany in Oslo.
In 2015, Raab stopped appearing on screen but continued working as a TV producer. He made a public return to entertainment in 2024.
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Early Life and Background
Stefan Raab grew up in Cologne, Germany, with his sister. His parents owned a butcher's shop. He went to a Jesuit boarding school called Aloisiuskolleg in Bonn.
Before becoming an entertainer, he trained as a butcher in his family's shop. He also studied law at university for five semesters but decided to leave before finishing.
Raab lives in a suburb of Cologne. He has two daughters, born in 2004 and 2006, with his girlfriend Nike. He keeps his private life very secret from the media.
Stefan Raab's Career
Television Shows
Stefan Raab became very popular in Germany as the host of Vivasion. This comedy show aired on the German music TV channel VIVA from 1993 to 1998.
In 1999, he created TV total, which started airing on ProSieben in April 2001, four times a week. TV total began as a comedy show that mostly made fun of funny or embarrassing moments from other TV programs. However, it soon became more like a late-night show, featuring musical performances. It was similar in some ways to shows like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
After a boxing match against Regina Halmich in 2001 and a speed skating race against Claudia Pechstein in 2002, Raab created several other celebrity sports events. These events are produced regularly and include TV total Turmspringen (high diving) and TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge (stock car racing).
He also invented new and fun sports for his show. In November 2003, he started the first "official" World Wok racing Championship in Winterberg, Germany. In this event, modified Chinese woks are used to slide down an Olympic bobsled track. This championship happened every year until March 2011 in Innsbruck. The first Autoball EM took place in 2007. Autoball is a version of football played in cars, using a large exercise ball to score goals.
In 2006, Raab invented the game show Schlag den Raab (which means "Beat the Raab" in German). In this show, he competed against a contestant in many different challenges. Some episodes of this show lasted more than five hours and were very popular.
Raab also organized PokerStars.de Nacht, a poker event that featured some famous German entertainers.
In September 2012, he announced he would host a new talk show on ProSieben that would include political guests. It started airing on November 11, 2012.
In September 2013, Raab was one of four hosts for a big federal election debate. This debate was between the chancellor, Angela Merkel, and her challenger, Peer Steinbrück.
In mid-2015, Raab announced he would stop appearing on television. He continued hosting his shows until the end of that year. The last episode of TV total aired on December 16, and the last episode of Schlag den Raab aired on December 19, 2015.
He returned to TV in 2024 with a show called Du gewinnst hier nicht die Million on RTL+. This show was described as a mix of TV total and Schlag den Raab. In June 2025, the show was cancelled. RTL announced a new show concept for fall 2025.
Music Career
Stefan Raab is a self-taught musician. He plays many instruments, including piano, drums, guitar, ukulele, and some wind instruments. In 1990, he started working as a freelance producer and composer. He created jingles and radio commercials at his own studio in Cologne.
From 1994 onwards, he produced many popular songs. These included "Böörti Böörti Vogts" (about Berti Vogts), "Hier kommt die Maus" (a tribute to a children's TV series), and "Maschen-Draht-Zaun". He also produced "Space Taxi" for a movie soundtrack.
Based on the idea of the Eurovision Song Contest, Raab created and hosted the Bundesvision Song Contest. This show first aired on ProSieben in 2005. The contest features representatives from each of Germany's 16 states. A rule is that their song must be at least partly in German. It took place every year until Raab's break from TV in 2015.
Eurovision Song Contest Involvement
Raab wrote the song for Germany's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. This was Guildo Horn's "Guildo hat euch lieb!". It came in seventh place in the main contest.
Raab himself participated as the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the fun song "Wadde hadde dudde da?". He finished in fifth place.
For the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, Raab created and hosted a talent show called SSDSGPS. This name was a funny take on the German Deutschland sucht den Superstar show. Max Mutzke won the competition and finished eighth in the main contest.
In 2009, the public broadcaster NDR asked Raab to help organize a national selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. Raab's TV network, ProSieben, agreed to work with ARD/NDR. This led to the talent show Unser Star für Oslo (Our Star for Oslo). It ran for 8 shows starting in February 2010. Raab was the head of the jury. In the final on March 12, 2010, Lena Meyer-Landrut won. On May 29, 2010, Meyer-Landrut won the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with her song "Satellite". This was Germany's first Eurovision win in 28 years!
The cooperation between NDR and ProSieben continued for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. Lena Meyer-Landrut was chosen again to represent Germany. The show Unser Song für Deutschland was held to pick her song. Meyer-Landrut performed twelve songs, and the public voted. Raab helped choose the songs, and he was a judge in the final. "Taken by a Stranger", which Raab produced, was the winning song. In May 2011, Raab co-hosted the main contest with Anke Engelke and Judith Rakers. Meyer-Landrut finished in tenth place.
After the 2011 final, Raab said he would stop his direct involvement with Eurovision. However, he returned in 2012 as the creator and producer of the selection show Unser Star für Baku. Raab was a regular jury member. Roman Lob won the competition with "Standing Still", which finished eighth in the main contest. Raab was no longer involved with Eurovision from the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 onwards.
After his return to entertainment in 2024, Raab offered to produce a selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. This show would be hosted by both public and private broadcasters. In October 2024, it was confirmed that Raab would return as creator, producer, and jury member for Chefsache ESC 2025: Wer singt für Deutschland?. The shows aired on Das Erste and the private channel RTL. The duo Abor & Tynna won the contest and represented Germany at Eurovision, finishing in 15th place.
Eurovision Participations
| Year | Place of event | Artist | Song | Involvement as | Position | Points |
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| 1998 | Birmingham, England | Guildo Horn | "Guildo hat euch lieb!" | Composer | 7 | 86 |
| 2000 | Stockholm, Sweden | Stefan Raab | "Wadde hadde dudde da?" | Performer, composer |
5 | 96 |
| 2004 | Istanbul, Turkey | Max Mutzke | Can't Wait Until Tonight | Discoverer, composer, mentor |
8 | 93 |
| 2010 | Oslo, Norway | Lena Meyer-Landrut | "Satellite" | Creator and jury president of Unser Star für Oslo, mentor |
1 | 246 |
| 2011 | Düsseldorf, Germany | "Taken by a Stranger" | Creator and jury president of Unser Song für Deutschland, music producer, mentor, host |
10 | 107 | |
| 2012 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Roman Lob | "Standing Still" | Creator and jury member of Unser Star für Baku | 8 | 110 |
| 2025 | Basel, Switzerland | Abor & Tynna | "Baller" | Creator and jury member of Chefsache ESC 2025 | 15 | 151 |
TV Shows Hosted by Stefan Raab
- 1993–1998: Vivasion, VIVA
- 1995–1996: Ma' kuck'n, VIVA
- 1999–2015: TV total, ProSieben
- 2005–2015: Bundesvision Song Contest, ProSieben
- 2009, 2014–2015: Schlag den Star, ProSieben
- 2011: Eurovision Song Contest, ARD
- 2012–2013: TV total Quizboxen, ProSieben
- 2012–2013: Absolute Mehrheit, ProSieben
- 2013: Das TV-Duell – Merkel gegen Steinbrück, ProSieben
- 2024–2025: Du gewinnst hier nicht die Million bei Stefan Raab, RTL+
TV Shows as a Participant
- 2003–2015: TV total Wok-WM, ProSieben
- 2004–2015: TV total Turmspringen, ProSieben
- 2005–2015: TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge, ProSieben
- 2006–2015: Schlag den Raab, ProSieben
- 2008–2014: TV total Autoball, ProSieben
- 2009–2015: Deutscher Eisfußball-Pokal, ProSieben
- 2024–present: Stefan & Bully gegen irgendson Schnulli, RTL
- 2025–present: Raabs Pokernacht mit GGPoker.de, RTL
TV Shows Produced by Stefan Raab
- 2009–2024: Schlag den Star, ProSieben
- 2009: Unser Star für Oslo, ARD/ProSieben
- 2010: Unser Song für Deutschland, ARD/ProSieben
- 2011: Unser Star für Baku, ARD/ProSieben
- 2018–2024: Das Ding des Jahres, ProSieben
- 2019: Headis Team-WM, ProSieben
- 2019–2024: 1:30, ProSieben
- 2019–2024: Schlag den Besten, ProSieben
- 2020–2024: Free European Song Contest, ProSieben
- 2024–2025: Du gewinnst hier nicht die Million bei Stefan Raab, RTL
- 2024–present: Eltons 12, RTL
- 2024–present: Stefan & Bully gegen irgendson Schnulli, RTL
- 2025: Chefsache ESC 2025 – Wer singt für Deutschland? , RTL / NDR
- 2025–present: Raabs Pokernacht mit GGPoker.de
Awards and Recognition
For his TV show Vivasion, Raab received the Goldener Löwe (Golden Lion) in 1996. This award was a predecessor to the Deutscher Fernsehpreis (German Television Award). For TV total, he won the Deutscher Fernsehpreis in 1999 and the comedy award Rose d'or in 2001.
His talent show SSDSGPS earned him the Adolf-Grimme-Preis in 2005. This award was for finding and supporting young music talents. On May 29, 2005, Raab received the Deutsch-Türkischer Freundschaftspreis (German-Turkish Friendship Award). This was for his TV total specials from Istanbul before the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. He also won the Bravo Otto award in the "Comedystar" category from 2000 to 2003. In 2000 and 2005, Raab received the ECHO (a German music award) as "Best National Producer". In 2005, he also got the ECHO award as "media partner of the year".
On September 29, 2007, Raab received the Deutscher Fernsehpreis for "Best Entertainment Show" for an episode of Schlag den Raab. On February 6, 2008, the show won the Goldene Kamera (Golden Camera). Additionally, Raab received the media award Bambi on November 27, 2008. In 2009, Raab won the Herbert Award 2009 for Best Television Sports show for TV total Turmspringen.
Madame Tussauds in Berlin has had a wax figure of Raab on display since April 2009.
As the person who started and led the jury for the show Unser Star für Oslo, Raab was given the Bavarian TV Award in 2010.
On November 12, 2011, Raab came in second place in synchronised diving. He teamed up with Elton at the TV Total Turmspringen 2011 event in Munich. This was his first time on the podium with Elton at this event.
See also
In Spanish: Stefan Raab para niños
