Katarina Witt dropped the covers for "Playboy" in 1998. Now she reveals what fee she negotiated for the cover shoot.
The former figure skater Katarina Witt (54) spoke in an interview with the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung" about her career in sport and her current professional life. The two-time Olympic champion in 1984 and 1988, who celebrated success first in the GDR and then in reunified Germany, knew of her popularity in her long career – and negotiated an enormous fee for a "Playboy" shoot. "They were after me for ten years until I got naked for them. And if you already wear your fur to the market, it must be worth it," said Witt.
The American "Playboy" said the rights to market her pictures worldwide were worth a seven-figure sum in 1998, explained the former athlete. "It was definitely worth it for her. This issue, along with the Marylin Monroe title, was the only thing that was ever sold out worldwide."
She even left Trump by the wayside
One of Witt's previous admirers in America was also the current US President Donald Trump (74). Witt is said to have been the only woman who got the cell phone number from him and never called back. "My cheeky answer, 'Somebody's got to get started,' probably couldn't cope with his ego back then," she said. The 54-year-old hopes that alpha animals will never become extinct, but the world can do without "egomaniacal self-promotion".
Your job today is to be Katarina Witt. "I can't think of a better job title." With "the Katarina company" she draws on the success of the past without living in the past. She had her lawyers protect her name and personality rights and thus the "Kati Witt" brand.