Sonja Barend, Date of Birth, Place of Birth

    

Sonja Barend

Dutch television presenter

Date of Birth: 29-Feb-1940

Place of Birth: Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Profession: television presenter, presenter

Nationality: Kingdom of the Netherlands

Zodiac Sign: Pisces


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About Sonja Barend

  • Sonja Maria Barend (born 29 February 1940) is a Dutch television personality and former talk show host.
  • Her talk show Sonja, which she presented since the 1970s, was noted for breaking taboos and allowing ordinary people a voice in public dialog.
  • She retired from television in 2006, after four decades of television making.Barend has worked for television since 1966.
  • From the late 1970s on she presented her own weekly talk show for the (socialist) VARA broadcasting organization, a show whose name was based on the day of transmission, e.g.
  • Sonja op Maandag ("Sonja on Monday").
  • In 1996 Sonja op Zaterdag ("Saturday") came to an end, after the retirement of Ellen Blazer, her regular producer, with whom she collaborated from the beginning of her television career.
  • Her show, which featured interview and public discussion, was known for allowing ordinary people to have their say.
  • This included, for instance, the viewpoints of ethnic minorities, and relied to a great extent on Barend's personality and commitment.Barend was outspoken on political and ideological topics, and television viewers either loved or hated her.
  • Especially in the 1970s and 1980s she was never afraid to openly discuss taboo topics—homosexuality, feminism, emancipation, and sexuality.
  • According to Marcel van Dam, chairman of the VARA from 1985 on to 1995, she personified the public's negative perception of the VARA (ill-tempered, moralistic), but he could not imagine how the VARA would have survived without her.From 1997 until 2002 she and Paul Witteman had a daily news and talk program, B&W.
  • She officially retired from making television in 2006, and on the occasion of her last Sonja show, was awarded as Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau by Job Cohen, then-mayor of Amsterdam.
  • That last episode, which included an overview of her career and a number of notable television personalities, received a subtitle, "En morgen gezond weer op!" ("And tomorrow, wake up healthy"), in reference to her usual closing of her TV shows.
  • Gezond Weer Op is also the title of a collection of interviews culled from her shows.
  • An annual award for best television interview is named after her.

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