Steven Gätjen

Steven Gätjen is a German-American television presenter and event host based in Germany. Born on September 25, 1972, in Phoenix, Arizona, he is widely recognized for hosting a variety of high-profile entertainment programs, game shows, award ceremonies, and film-related broadcasts across German television networks.

Gätjen spent his early childhood in Arizona, where his German father worked as a doctor. At three years old, his family relocated to Germany when his father took a position at the Altonaer Klinik. Raised alongside two younger brothers—including actor Andy Gätjen—his mother worked as a columnist for the Hamburger Abendblatt. He graduated from high school in Hamburg in 1992, completed a year of Zivildienst, and interned at OK Radio. He later studied in the United States, attending the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Hollywood Film School in San Francisco.

Beginning his broadcasting career in the late 1990s, Gätjen served as a host and producer for MTV Europe News and MTV News Highlights from 1996 to 1999. In 1999, he began hosting shows for ProSieben, including the live entertainment and news program taff and taff extra. Over the following decade, he hosted numerous television formats across several networks, presenting shows such as Champions Day, Fort Boyard, Der Maulwurf, Speed – Time is Money, E! News Live, Disney Filmparade, Soundcheck, Werbung! Das Beste aus aller Welt, and Top 10 TV.

Gätjen gained significant prominence through his long-standing coverage of major international film events. He hosted the German Oscar broadcast from 2000 to 2002, from 2007 to 2015, and again starting in 2017, alongside hosting the Oscar Red Carpet Show. In 2011, he took over hosting duties for TV total special events on ProSieben, including the TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge, TV total Tower Diving, Wok World Championship, and Autoball Championships, as well as serving as the host of Beat the Raab (Schlag den Raab) from 2011 to 2015. He also co-hosted the casting show Unser Star für Baku in 2012.

In 2015, Gätjen launched the film project FredCarpet with MBTV-Produktions GmbH, presenting movie tips and interviews from Steven Loves Cinema. Moving to ZDF in 2016, he presented the quiz show Clever abgestaubt on ZDFneo in 2017, hosted the Goldene Kamera ceremony in March 2017, and launched Sorry für alles in 2019. Since 2019, he has hosted Joko & Klaas gegen ProSieben, and in 2020 and 2021, he co-hosted the Free European Song Contest alongside Conchita Wurst. His other hosting credits include 5 Gold Rings in 2020.

In addition to hosting, Gätjen has worked in voice acting and film. He provided German voice-over dubbing for animated feature films including Zootopia (2016), Ferdinand (2017), Spies in Disguise (2018), and Zootopia 2 (2025). He also made a cameo appearance as an Apostle agent in the 2018 film Mission: Impossible – Fallout. In online media, he joined the Rocket Beans TV cinema show Kino+ as a permanent member in May 2020. In January 2022, he competed as a contestant on Schlag den Star against Max Kruse.

Outside of his media work, Gätjen is involved in the catering business through the company Monterone in Brooklyn, New York. He resides with his wife in Hamburg-Ottensen and maintains a second home in New York City.