Katherine Lee-Hinton, better known as Deltalina, is an American
flight attendant
A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...
for
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
and was one of the presenters of Delta's
onboard safety videos
A pre-flight safety briefing (also known as a pre-flight demonstration, in-flight safety briefing, in-flight safety demonstration, safety instructions, or simply the safety video) is a detailed explanation given before take-off to airline passeng ...
. The first Deltalina safety video was released in February 2008 and quickly became popular not only on board but also became one of the most-watched videos on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
soon after its release.
The Deltalina nickname came from YouTube viewers who, in the comments to the video, compared her looks to those of actress
Angelina Jolie.
[
She was born in ]Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
to a military family and was of German and Puerto Rican ancestry, maternal and paternal, respectively. An alumna of Stone Mountain High School, class of 1992, she was hired by Delta in 1997 upon her first attempt. She resided in Melbourne, Florida in 1997 and Buckhead, Atlanta as of 2008.
Safety videos
The original, unorthodox 2008 safety video made the news in the United States (for example, in ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', ''CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
'', '' Wired''), Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
(''De Telegraaf
''De Telegraaf'' (; en, The Telegraph) is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, '' de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief s ...
'') and Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
(''De Standaard
''De Standaard'' (meaning ''The Standard'' in English) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and F ...
'' and ''Het Nieuwsblad
''Het Nieuwsblad'' (; en, The Newspaper) is a Flemish newspaper that mainly focusses on "a broad view" regarding politics, culture, economics, lifestyle, society and sports.
History and profile
In 1929, ''Het Nieuwsblad'' was published by ...
''), most articles noting that the unusual humor might make passengers pay more attention to the video.
Critical reception
Martin Grant of Forbes wrote in 2012 that the Deltalina video was the first of the "next generation of safety video" and that the "talents" of Deltalina "largely helped" this.
This video, however, was panned (in the book ''How to Do Things With Videogames'') by Ian Bogost
Ian Bogost is an American academic and video game designer, most known for the game ''Cow Clicker''. He holds a joint professorship at Washington University as director and professor of the Film and Media Studies program in Arts & Sciences and ...
because, in Bogost's opinion, the attention that is paid to the videos is given to Lee-Hinton and not to the actual safety instructions, that the video made her into "a minor celebrity", that "In a weird historical inversion, this very much ''is'' your father's Pan Am
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
."[Bogost, Ian. ]
How to Do Things With Videogames
' (Volume 38 of Electronic mediations). University of Minnesota Press, 2011. , 9781452933122. p.143 .
Subsequent Delta safety videos
*In late 2012, Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
made two new safety videos in which Lee-Hinton is not the presenter, but in which she does appear in a cameo role, admonishing against smoking on board with her famous finger wag.
* In 2014, a younger version of Deltalina did her "finger wag" in a 80s themed safety video.
* In 2015, Deltalina again did her "finger wag", this time admonishing a screaming goat not to smoke, in a safety video featuring Internet memes. This scene later returned in a 2016 Delta safety video.
List of public appearances
* 2006: Lee modeled in May–September 2006 presentations and photo sessions for new Delta Air Lines' flight attendant uniforms.
* 2007: Lee appeared giving a live safety briefing in the May 22, 2007 episode of '' The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' when the entire show took place aboard a Delta flight.
* 2008: In September, Lee shot a series of humorous instructional videos for the Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
football team, shown on the large screens at the Georgia Dome in advance of each home game. The videos' theme was "Delta Safety First".
* 2009: In March, Lee helped celebrate the opening of the heliport atop the W Hotel in Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts ( Midtown and Buckhead), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county, s ...
, accompanying developer Hal Barry and his wife in a helicopter which landed there, kicking off the party. Tycoon Barry, inspiration for the protagonist in the Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...
novel ''A Man in Full
''A Man in Full'' is the second novel by Tom Wolfe, published on November 12, 1998, by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. It is set primarily in Atlanta, with a significant portion of the story also transpiring in the East Bay region of the San Francisco B ...
'', intended to commute between downtown and his estate further south. In the same month Lee appeared both in print and video to help kick off the relaunch of Delta's inflight magazine, ''Sky''.
* 2010: Lee appeared in a video for the Carter foundation. Also in that year, she did a video to promote Sky Priority benefits for frequent flyers.
* 2011: In March, Lee appeared in a video for the 2011 Adobe Summit orientation. In August 2011, Lee appeared in a series of promotional videos for Healthe Trim's diet supplements. On December 14, 2011, she also appeared on CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
offering travel tips.
* 2012: In March, Lee was onstage at the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their live ...
. In November 2012, she appeared in a print ad for the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, which appeared in Delta Sky Magazine
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along wit ...
. In the same month she also appeared in a cameo role in a promotional video for the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Personal life
Lee was born in Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, to a Puerto Rican father (died in December 2013) and a German mother. Her father was in the military, and the family moved around a lot. Lee graduated from Stone Mountain High School in Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...
in 1992.[
]
References
Sources
"Fame and Marriage Proposal for Deltalina", ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution''
Richard L. Eldredge, "Delta’s famed attendant, others offer travel packing tips", ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', November 21, 2008
External links
* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgpzUo_kbFY Official in-flight video (2008), Delta Air Lines
{{Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines people
Flight attendants
Living people
Viral videos
American people of German descent
Year of birth missing (living people)
fr:Delta Air Lines#Deltalina
nl:Delta Air Lines#Deltalina en veiligheidsvideo's