Kaya Yanar

Kaya Yanar is a German comedian who is best known for his comedy television show Was guckst du?!. Born on 20 May 1973 in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, he was raised by Turkish immigrants from Antakya. During his school years, he expressed a desire to become a comedian to his teacher. He has described his upbringing as liberal and noted that, despite holding Turkish nationality, he does not speak the Turkish language. After graduating from the Heinrich-von-Gagern-Gymnasium in Frankfurt, he pursued studies in phonetics, American studies, and philosophy, though he left university before completing his degree.

Yanar achieved widespread popularity through his one-man comedy show Was guckst du?!, serving as both host and main performer. In the show, he plays on cultural stereotypes, parodying the speech patterns of Turkish migrants as well as other backgrounds. One of his notable sketches featured an East Indian character named Ranjid and a pet cow named Benita, a role for which Yanar spent months practicing pidgin-English learned from university friends. Was guckst du?! aired across multiple seasons between 2004 and 2008.

In addition to his main sketch show, Yanar toured Germany with several solo comedy programs. Broadcasts of his live performances, including Made in Germany in 2008, Live und unzensiert in 2009, and All Inclusive! in 2013, were aired on the German television station RTL. He hosted the 2007 ZDF program Kaya Yanar testet Deutschland – die Multi-Kulti-Show as part of a television theme week focused on integration. Due to his success as an artist with a Turkish migration background, Yanar is recognized as a trailblazer and key figure for the acceptance of multicultural issues in German-speaking countries.

Yanar's later television projects include appearing on Schillerstraße from 2009 to 2011 and co-hosting Stars bei der Arbeit alongside Dieter Tappert starting in 2011. He starred in and hosted Die Kaya Show in 2012, appeared in the film Agent Ranjid rettet die Welt the same year, and presented Typisch Deutsch in 2013. In 2014, RTL began broadcasting his weekly current affairs show Geht's noch?! Kayas Woche, which combined stand-up comedy with political satire. He has also served as a jury member on the Comedy Grand-Prix, an annual televised contest to select top German comedy talent.

Beyond his entertainment career, Yanar became a godfather to the Heinrich-Middendorf-Oberschule Aschendorf in December 2012 as part of the initiative Schule ohne Rassismus – Schule mit Courage. He is a vegan, having previously been a pescetarian, and works as an animal rights activist supporting PETA.