Sophia Thomalla

Sophia Thomalla, born on 6 October 1989, is a German actress, model, and television presenter. She is best known for her work across German television, including reality competitions, daily serials, comedy programs, and hosting engagements. Over the course of her career, she has also participated in high-profile modeling campaigns, served as a talent judge, and appeared on various public discussion broadcasts.

Thomalla was born in East Berlin, East Germany, to actress Simone Thomalla and actor André Vetters. She spent her early years in Berlin until age seven, when she moved to Cologne with her mother. After finishing her fourth year of school, she relocated to Kleinmachnow, and a year later moved to Gelsenkirchen, where she lived following her mother's separation from Rudi Assauer. During her youth, Thomalla practiced kickboxing as a recreational activity and participated in several amateur fights.

From 2007 to 2009, Thomalla trained at the Constantin School for Acting, Dance, and Singing in Bochum. She secured her first television role in 2006, portraying the daughter of characters played by Barbara Rudnik and Henry Hübchen in the ARD crime series Commissario Laurenti, directed by Sigi Rothemund. In 2009, she applied for an open casting call for Germany's next Topmodel. Between 2009 and 2010, she appeared alongside Chris Putzer in the Sat.1 daily soap opera Eine wie Keine. She later joined the main cast of the Sat.1 comedy series Die dreisten Drei in 2012 alongside Oliver Beerhenke and Mirco Nontschew.

Thomalla gained wider prominence as a reality contestant on Let's Dance, winning the title of Dancing Star 2010 with her dance partner Massimo Sinató. Her success expanded into major television hosting and jury roles. On 30 January 2015, she co-hosted the 10th SemperOpernball in Dresden with Gunther Emmerlich. Later that year, she undertook hosting duties for ProSieben broadcasts of the Wok World Cup in March and the TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge in October. In 2016, she joined DJ BoBo and Cale Kalay on the judging panel for the RTL dance show Dance Dance Dance, and served as a judge for the tattoo contest show Pain & Fame on Sixx.

In modeling, Thomalla achieved third place in FHM's Sexiest Women list in 2010 and won first place in an online selection for Die 25 schönsten Stars in 25 Jahren. She was featured in the German edition of Playboy in May 2012 and appeared again in October 2015 alongside her mother and 23 other women. She also fronted commercial campaigns for Lidl's cosmetic product line in 2014 and its fashion brand in 2015.

Thomalla joined the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) in 2012, remaining a member until departing the party in 2023. Her appearances on talk shows like hart aber fair and Maischberger generated public debate following her commentary on gender equality and the #MeToo movement. In her personal life, Thomalla was in a relationship with singer Till Lindemann from 2011 to 2015. She married Andy LaPlegua in March 2016 before divorcing in 2017, and later dated Gavin Rossdale and Loris Karius, living in Istanbul during her relationship with Karius. Since 2021, she has been dating tennis player Alexander Zverev.