Stéphane Rotenberg (born 21 September 1967) is a French

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

Background and early life

Stéphane Rotenberg's grandparents are from Polish families who settled in the

Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin The Nord-Pas-de-Calais Mining Basin is a mining basin in Northern France that stretches across the Nord (French department), Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments. The region is famous for its long history of coal extraction and its testimony to a s ...

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. His paternal grandparents,

Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

, fled oppression, while his maternal grandparents, Polish

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s, came to France looking for work. One of his grandfathers is a miner, the other is a furniture manufacturer. Stéphane Rotenberg was born in

, but when he was two and a half years old, his parents left Pas-de-Calais to find work in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 1985, he ceased studying for the

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

, France's secondary schooling qualification, three months before the exams, preferring to immediately start a career as a

. He then undertook training at a radio school, which allowed him to access media internships.

Career

From 1991 to 1997, he worked in specialized magazines such as ''

Sport Auto ''sport auto'' is a German automobile magazine, established in 1969, published monthly by Motor Presse Stuttgart, based in Stuttgart. The magazine publishes its "Supertest" of cars, featuring the laptime at the Nordschleife. Until 2015 almost a ...

'' or '' L'Auto-Journal''. He also wrote several articles for the general press in '' VSD'', '' Vogue Hommes'' and '' Liberation''. During the 2000s, he hosted various corporate presentations of vehicles and industry promotions for the

Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...

group, intended for car salespeople.

Journalism

Before becoming a television presenter, Rotenberg was a print journalist. From 1991 to 1997, he worked for speciality magazines such as ''Sport Auto'' and ''Auto Journal''. He also wrote some articles for the general press like '' VSD'', ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' and ''

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

''. From 1995 to 1997, he was a reporter and then associate editor of ''Turbo'' on channel M6. In 1998, he became an editorial director of magazine programming for

France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

. In 1999, he was an assistant director of magazine and documentary programs at the channel, where he helped initiate programs such as , (with Christine Bravo), and .

Television presenting

In 2000, the director of programming and production of channel AB Moteurs selected Rotenberg to host its flagship magazine program ''V6'', a show dedicated to motor vehicles. The same year, Rotenberg joined M6, hosting ''Normal / Paranormal''. In 2001, he hosted , a celebrity talk show on

Match TV Match! TV () is a Russian free-to-air federal sports television channel owned by Gazprom Media. The channel began broadcasting on November 1, 2015, and had been created in accordance with the order of Russian president Vladimir Putin, with the a ...

. In 2003, he hosted (the French version of '' The Bachelor'') on M6. After the success of the first season, he hosted the following seasons from 2004 to 2005. In 2003, he hosted on M6, in which he talked about the personal life of celebrities. Since 2006, he has presented a number of programs on M6 such as , and (the French version of '' Peking Express''), all broadcast in 2007. From January to April 2008, he presented the third season of , the fourth season from April to July 2009, the fifth season in April 2010, the sixth season in November 2010, and the seventh season in April 2011. In January 2009, he presented ''

Ice Road Truckers ''Ice Road Truckers'' (commercially abbreviated ''IRT'') is a reality television series that aired on History Channel from 2007 to 2017. It featured the activities of drivers who operated trucks on ice roads crossing frozen lakes and rivers, i ...

'' on channel W9. After the first season, he presented the second season. In 2009, he co-hosted ''Total Wipeout'' with Alex Goude and Sandrine Corman on M6. In February 2010, he presented with Sandrine Corman the first season of France's ''

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo in March 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs ...

''. He was the show's sole presenter in its second season in January 2011, the third season in January 2012, and finally the fourth season in February 2013. In April 2012, Rotenberg hosted the eighth season of on M6. During shooting on location in the Philippines, he was involved in an accident while riding a motorcycle with a side-car. The vehicle swerved off-course and was hit head-on by an oncoming car. Neither Rotenburg nor the other cycle occupant, a local man and owner of the vehicle, were seriously injured, despite the serious collision. Rotenberg was able to continue hosting duties after treatment. The vehicle was destroyed in the incident. In April 2013, he hosted the ninth season of .

References

External links

Profile of Stéphane Rotenberg on the official site of M6
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotenberg, Stephane 1967 births French journalists French television presenters People from Pas-de-Calais Living people French male non-fiction writers French people of Polish descent French people of Polish-Jewish descent