Who is Marlene Knaus? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Niki Lauda (m. 1976–1991)

children: Lukas Lauda, Mathias Lauda

Born Country: United States

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Early Life

Marlene was born in the US. She is of Venezuelan ethnicity. However, she received Austrian citizenship after marrying Niki. Marlene had a full-fledged career in modeling before she married the 'Formula 1' racer. Despite being the wife of a celebrity, she has always preferred to stay away from the media.

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Relationship with Niki

Marlene and Niki dated for a while before getting married in 1976. They were one of the most popular celebrity couples of the time and were always under the media radar. Their love story often made page-3 headlines. According to sources, Marlene fainted when she saw Niki's burns and his damaged eyelids after a fatal 'Grand Prix' accident.

Marlene was not the first woman whom Niki had dated. He had broken up with Mariella Reininghaus in 1975 to start a relationship with Marlene. Niki had reportedly fallen for Marlene’s magnetic persona and beauty and thus ended his 8-year-long relationship to be with her.

Marlene had earlier dated German–Austrian stage and film actor Curt Jürgens. Interestingly, Marlene and Niki had met each for the first time at a dinner party thrown by Curt at his home.

Marlene and Niki got married within a few months of being in a relationship. They had their first child, son Mathias Lauda, on January 30, 1981, who grew up to be a racing driver. Their second son, Lukas, serves as Mathias's manager.

Marlene and Niki ended their marriage in 1991. However, they remained in touch, and Marlene often attended their family get-togethers. Though she did not remarry or date anyone after the divorce, Niki married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant in his airline, in 2008. Niki and Birgit had twins, a girl named Mia and a boy named Max. He reportedly also had a son named Christoph from an extramarital relationship.

Marlene lives in a house in Ibiza that Niki had left for her. She has been in good terms with Birgit and even shared responsibilities when Niki was on his deathbed in a Zurich hospital. The major share of the ‘Formula 1’ racer's net worth was signed off to his four children and Birgit, along with a considerable sum for Marlene and Christoph.

Legacy

Actors Alexandra Maria and Daniel Brühl portrayed Marlene and Niki, respectively, in the 2013 film 'Rush,' which majorly focused on the rivalry between Niki and fellow 'Formula 1' racer James Hunt during the 1976 'Formula 1' motor-racing season. The film showed that Marlene initially had no idea about Niki's stardom.

Alexandra sported Marlene's signature loose top-knot bun hairstyle perfectly in the movie. Niki, while visiting the sets of ‘Rush,’ saw Alexandra in her full Marlene avatar from a distance and exclaimed "Marlene! Marlene!"

Marlene Knaus Biography