Former Chilean-Austrian model Marlene Knaus has worked as an interior designer, photographer, and model. She is most well-known, though, as the ex-wife of the late Formula One driver Niki Lauda. She was the three-time world champion’s first wife. Before having their separate ways, Marlene and Niki were wed for about fifteen years.
Details of Her Early Life
Page Contents
- 1 Details of Her Early Life
- 2 When Marlene Knaus and Niki Lauda first got together, they were already dating.
- 3 She has two children of her own.
- 4 Marlene’s Post-Divorce Love Life: Her Ex Got Married
- 5 Niki Lauda, her first husband, passed away in 2019
- 6 Marlene Knaus inherited the wealth of her ex-husband Niki.
There isn’t much information available on Marlene Knaus, the former model and photographer, as she has been keeping a low profile following her divorce. Similarly, little is known about her early life in the media. However, according to some reports, she is actually from Chile in South America, even though she was born and reared in the United States.
In June 2019, The Sun published an article claiming Marlene was 70 years old, putting her birthday at approximately 1949. Marlene Knaus is 73 years old as of 2023. Regretfully, information regarding her parents and birthday is not available.
Despite having been born and reared in the United States, Marlene acquired Austrian citizenship following her divorce from Niki Lauda.
Marlene Knaus’s Modeling Career In the 1970s, Marlene began to pursue her ambition of being a model. Even though she didn’t have a lot of possibilities when she first started modeling, she was improving little by little.
She also worked as an interior designer and photographer, according to the sources. In the middle of the 1970s, Marlene began dating Niki Lauda and stopped working in her career.
When Marlene Knaus and Niki Lauda first got together, they were already dating.
While it is common knowledge that Marlene and Niki Lauda had a happy marriage for many years, many of us may not be familiar with their background. The truth is that when they initially met, they were still in a relationship. They met for the first time in 1975 when they happened to attend actor Curt Jurgens’ party. The actor Curt was dating the up-and-coming model at the time.
Niki Lauda, on the other side, was engaged to Mariella von Reininghaus, his then-fiance. They had been together for years and intended to tie the knot shortly. But Lauda and Marlene were infatuated with one another. They parted ways with their respective partners and began dating within a few months.
On March 11, 1976, less than a year after they first became acquainted, Marlene and Niki Lauda tied the knot. It seems that just five months prior, Niki Lauda was involved in a near-fatal vehicle accident at the Nürburgring in Germany.
She has two children of her own.
Lukas and Mathias Lauda are the two boys Marlene and Niki Lauda had before their divorce. On April 5, 1979, three years after they were married, they welcomed Lukas Lauda into their family. On January 30, 1981, two years later, Marlene gave birth to Mathias Lauda, the couple’s second son.
Their first son Lukas managed their second son Mathias, who followed in his father’s footsteps and became a racer. In addition, Mathias uses social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter frequently, although his elder brother would rather avoid it.
By looking through his social media, we can see that Mathias is contentedly dating Claire Lauda, with whom he has two children.
Marlene’s Post-Divorce Love Life: Her Ex Got Married
For more than fifteen years, Knaus and her ex-husband Niki Lauda appeared to have the ideal marital existence. They formally separated in 1991, and in 1996 they completed their divorce. The former couple kept their divorce’s cause a secret. In the meantime, Niki had an extramarital affair with an anonymous woman in the 1980s while they were still married.
Niki remained silent about the woman’s identity. His affair resulted in the birth of a son, Christoph Lauda. This may have contributed to their breakup, but they continued to live peacefully for years afterward.
Marlene decided to live a private life following their divorce. Thus, there is very little information available about her post-divorce love life. It is said that Marlene currently resides in Ibiza.
Her ex-spouse, on the other hand, had a happy marriage to his second wife up until his passing. Birgit Wetzinger, an air hostess, was his spouse.
Four years after they first dated in 2004, they tied the knot. In 2009, Niki and Birgit also welcomed twins, a daughter named Mia and a son named Max.
Niki Lauda, her first husband, passed away in 2019
2019 saw the death of Marlene Knaus’s ex-husband Niki Lauda, more than two decades after their divorce. On May 20, 2019, Lauda, the three-time world champion of Formula One, passed away peacefully in his sleep at the University Hospital of Zürich in Switzerland. Still, Lauda’s family withheld Lauda’s cause of death.
Speaking of health problems, Niki Lauda experienced numerous injuries throughout his Formula One career, including one that almost cost him his life. He underwent a kidney transplant in 1997 after retiring from racing due to kidney failure. Florian Lauda, Niki’s brother, was the donor at the time.
Regretfully, though, his initial transplant didn’t last as long as anticipated, and in 2004 he was forced to have another one. Lukas, Niki’s firstborn son, offered to donate his kidney this time, but he wasn’t a good fit for his father. In the end, Birgit Wetzinger, his former girlfriend, offered him a second chance at life.
When she dared to give her organ, they had just been dating for eight months. Their bond grew stronger as a result, and in 2008 they were married.
Marlene Knaus inherited the wealth of her ex-husband Niki.
Niki Lauda passed away a few decades before Marlene did, but their connection remained friendly even after their divorce. In actuality, Niki had decided to leave his first wife with a specific amount of his income upon his passing. Niki Lauda’s will was made public by The Sun soon after her passing in 2019, however not many other media have made reference to it.
According to the German outlet Bunte, the article disclosed that Niki Lauda’s net worth exceeded $550 million at the time of his passing. The majority of his wealth was allocated to Niki’s second wife, Birgit, their two kids, and Niki’s two sons from he,r marriage to Marlene, LukareferredLauda, according to the will that was formalized in 2014.
According to The Sun, Niki originally drew up the will in 1997 when he made the decision to leave his entire estate to his first wife, Marlene, and their two sons. However, two years later, Niki revised his will. And this time, he designated four trustees—among them his longtime buddy Attila Dogudan—to distribute his estate upon his passing.
Once more in 2014, he finalized hdecidedting his fortune to his two boys from his first marriage to Marlene, his second wife Birgit, and their two kids. He had included his illegitimate son Christoph and his first wife Marlene in his will at the same time.
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