Markus Lanz (born 16 March 1969) is a German-Italian[1] television presenter based in Germany.

He grew up in Geiselsberg, a village located 1,344 metres above sea level in the central Alps.

Lanz stated that his family was poor, and that his father died at an early age, leaving his mother to care for three children.

In 1992, Lanz completed a vocational training course in communications at the Bayerische Akademie für Werbung und Marketing.

[3] He has a son (born 2000) from a previous relationship with TV presenter Birgit Schrowange.