Born on 13 October 1955 in Luxembourg; widowed,  two children     

1962 – 1974
Primary and secondary school, Bonn

1974 – 1976
Served in the Federal Armed Forces, Communications Battalion 330 in Koblenz

1977 – 1979
Studied political science, history and art history at the University of Bonn (but did not graduate)

1976 – 1979
"Bonner Rundschau", freelancer for the Bonn local news office

1979 – 1983
"Bild"-Zeitung, Cologne regional office, local political editor

1983 – 1985
"Express" Cologne, Cologne Local News Office, local political editor

1985 – 1987
"Express" Cologne, parliamentary correspondent in Bonn

1987 – 1989
"Hamburger Morgenpost", Hamburg, head of the political news department

1989 – 1991
"Express" Cologne, head of parliamentary office in Bonn

1991 – 1994
"Stern" magazine, parliamentary correspondent in Bonn/head of the political news department in Hamburg

1994 – 2000
"Bild am Sonntag", main editorial office Hamburg, head of the political news department

2001 – 2004
"Max" magazine, Hamburg, editor in chief

2005 – 2009
"Bild"-Zeitung, main editorial office Hamburg (as of 2007 in Berlin), head of political news department

2010 – September 2011
Spokesman for Silvana Koch-Mehrin, Member of the European Parliament, Brussels

September 2011 – March 2018
Deputy Government Spokesperson and Deputy Head of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government