Katja Schuurman
Actress, presenter, singer, speaker and chair of the day
Katja Schuurman has been one of the Netherlands' most recognizable faces for over thirty years. An actress, singer, presenter, writer and entrepreneur—a career that never fit into a single category and continues to evolve. What connects all these roles is the stage. From television studio to sold-out venue: she knows how to captivate an audience, hold their attention and take them on a journey. She now brings that experience to her work as a keynote speaker and moderator. Her story is about not living on autopilot, about thinking in possibilities and questioning how much of what we believe to be certain is actually learned. She delivers it with humor, sharp insight and an infectious belief in what's still possible.
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Biography
At twenty, a household name
Katja Schuurman was born in 1975 in Bunnik. Her breakthrough came in 1994 when she played Jessica Harmsen in Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden. A year later, she scored a number 1 hit with "Ademnood" as part of Linda, Roos & Jessica. She was twenty years old at the time, marking the beginning of a career that would span more than three decades.
Not to be caught in one category
Actress, singer and presenter for among others BNN, NET5, KRO-NCRV and RTL. She performs in comedies, thrillers and serious drama such as Costa, Oesters van Namkee, All Stars, Nieuwe Buren, Medea and receives a Golden Calf nomination for her leading role in Interview, the film she makes with Theo van Gogh. Characteristic of her are her energy and the fearlessness of someone who likes to question the status quo.
Travelling, entrepreneurship and writing
For programs like BNN@Work, Mission Unfindable, Return to Sender and Try Before You Die, she travels the world. These journeys fuel her curiosity about why and how people live. In 2006, she founded the fair trade brand Return to Sender, which supports women in poor regions through the sale of their own products. In 2018, her travel book Katja Was Hier is published; she also writes children's books and works as a designer in collaboration with POM Amsterdam, Floris van Bommel and Pavo Couture.
Still in motion
In 2025, she celebrates thirty years of Ademnood with two sold-out evenings at AFAS Live. In 2026, she releases a single with Snelle, co-hosts the popular Knock-Out Champs with rapper Sjaak, and tours the country with Babette van Veen. Alongside her work for the mainstream audience, Katja is a much-in-demand keynote speaker and moderator who inspires packed rooms and facilitates meetings in a way that leaves a lasting impression on people.
Expertise
Presenting and leading the conversation
Decades of presentation experience at major broadcasters have made her at home on any stage. She keeps up the pace, switches effortlessly between serious and lighthearted, and ensures an audience remains engaged throughout the day. As an interviewer, she has a feel for timing, probing questions and giving space: she maintains the thread of a conversation without dominating it, but asserts herself where necessary.
Self-examination without heaviness
Who am I, why do I do what I do and for whom? What would my ninety-year-old self advise me? Katja asks the questions people prefer to avoid, but with humor and lightness rather than solemnity. Just when you think you have the answer, she poses another one—and that's precisely where the real thinking begins.
The stories we tell ourselves
Katja's central theme is the question of how much of what we believe we know is actually learned. Beliefs about what is possible, what is proper, and who you are turn out, upon closer inspection, to often come from outside. She shows how liberating it is not to believe everything you think, and that what is true today doesn't have to hold tomorrow. Behind those stories lies, according to her, more space, more courage, and more potential than most people suspect.
Entrepreneurship with Commitment
With Return to Sender, Katja built a fair trade brand that supports women in impoverished areas through the sale of their own products. Her travels for television fueled the curiosity underlying this mission: how people live elsewhere, what choices they have, and what alternative ways of living can teach us.
Themes
Mindset and thinking in possibilities
Your thoughts are not facts. About questioning what you think you know for sure, and why a half-full glass is not a cliché but a daily choice.
Freedom and authenticity
Many of the chains holding you back are ones you've put on yourself. About radical honesty towards yourself and the freedom that lies beyond it.
Resilience and New Beginnings
A thirty-year career inevitably brings breaks, setbacks and fresh starts. About what it takes to begin again and again.
Entrepreneurship with commitment
Through Return to Sender, Katja has been supporting women in impoverished areas for nearly twenty years. About entrepreneurship where social purpose is the starting point.
Making Choices and Taking Action
Stop waiting for the right moment, because it doesn't exist and is therefore always there. About taking the step from dreaming to doing, and doubt as the beginning of growth.
Personal Leadership
Who are you apart from what others expect of you? About examining your own motivations instead of blindly accepting what is asked of you.
Why Katja
Thirty years on stage
From television studio to theater hall to AFAS Live. Few speakers have stood in front of audiences for as many hours, and you can tell from the ease with which they command and captivate a room.
Relatable to every audience
After thirty years on television, almost everyone knows her. That recognition gives your program immediate appeal and a warm reception in the hall.
Broadly deployable in one day
Keynote, day chairmanship, panel moderation, Q&A or podcast: Katja can fulfill multiple roles within one program, which makes your scheduling considerably easier.
Humor as an entry point
She poses questions that make you think, and does so with a laugh. This way, a confrontational message lands without an audience putting up its defenses.
Entrepreneurship with substance
Return to Sender is not a side project but a social enterprise she founded in 2006. For conferences about impact or social entrepreneurship, that's a story backed by evidence.
She speaks from personal experience
No scripted feel and no borrowed story. Katja talks about her own choices, doubts and fresh starts, and that makes her message credible for an audience that can sense when something has been rehearsed.
Talks
Chairperson or host of your event
Half day to full dayPassion and Commitment
With decades of presentation experience at major broadcasting networks, Katja keeps up the pace and effortlessly switches between serious and light-hearted content. Her presence is both warm and authoritative.
Conversations that actually matter
As an interviewer and panel moderator, she maintains the flow without dominating the conversation. She puts people at ease, listens genuinely, and draws out more than a standard interview would.
Even when the unexpected
Katja is not afraid of unexpected questions. She improvises well, responds quickly and always remains true to herself. In a Q&A setting in particular, a guarantee for liveliness and connection with the audience.
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