German television viewers of a certain age may already be familiar with Palina Rojinski. She got her start from her time as a sidekick for the popular comedian television duo Joko and Klaas. But all three have come a long way since their days on Germany’s MTV Home.
But Rojinski is more than just a sidekick. With her easygoing attitude and willingness to poke fun at herself, Palina Rojinski is well-known in the German entertainment industry. These days, Rojinski is an in-demand actress and moderator. Among other things, she has many notable romantic comedies to her name.
So this month, let’s practice the German language and get to know Palina Rojinski!
Get to Know Palina Rojinski
Palina Rojinski was born on April 21, 1985, in Leningrad, Soviet Union (today known as St. Petersburg, Russia). With her parents, the family moved as refugees to Berlin, Germany, in early 1991.
Even from a young age, Rojinski enjoyed performing in front of a crowd. She became involved in rhythmic gymnastics and was a two-time junior champion. Later, she pursued ballet quite seriously. But due to a knee injury in her teen years, she was forced to give the sports up. After receiving her Abitur, she studied literature and history for a time at Humboldt University.
Her first film role came in 2006 with a guest appearance on the scripted reality crime show Lenßen & Partner. Not long after, she joined MTV as a co-host of MTV Home. It was at MTV that she was partnered up with Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf.
From there, her career really took off. Since then, she has appeared in numerous film and television roles. Rojinski has also served as a judge on the dance competition show Got to Dance and host of Netflix’s Sing On! Germany and quiz show Gipfel der Quizgiganten.
Willkommen bei den Hartmanns (Welcome to Germany)
Known as Willkommen bei den Hartmanns in Germany, the 2016 film is Welcome to Germany in the English-speaking world. In the film, a rich Munich family offers to take in a refugee from Nigeria. The family patriarch is skeptical at first but he eventually relents. However, no good deed goes unpunished. The family and Diallo, the refugee, have to deal with racism, paranoia, and other complications.
Filmed in Munich, the cast includes some big names in German films. Senta Berger and Heiner Lauterbach play parents to Florian David Fitz and Rojinski. Elyas M’Barek portrays one of Lauterbach’s coworkers.
Stream Welcome to Germany on Amazon Prime!
Nightlife
In the romantic comedy Nightlife, Elyas M’Barek portrays Milo, a barkeeper in Berlin who likes to enjoy all that the nightlife has to offer. But Milo decides it is time to grow up and get serious.
Things start going well for Milo after he falls head over heels in love with Sunny (portrayed by Rojinski), a music manager. But Milo’s old life creeps back in when his friend, Renzo (portrayed by Frederick Lau), shows up. Renzo is looking for his friend’s help after a shady drug deal goes wrong.
Traumfrauen (Man of my Dreams)
In the romantic comedy that was a box office hit, Traumfrauen (known as Man of My Dreams for English audiences) follows three Berlin women who are all looking for love. Karoline Herfurth portrays Hannah, Hannah Herzsprung portrays Leni and Palina Rojinski is Vivienne.
And, as the saying goes, they are looking for love in all the wrong places. That is when Elyas M’Barek, as Joseph, a struggling actor, enters to catch Leni’s eye…and her heart.
Practice practice practice! Discover other great German language actors and actresses previously featured.
Top photo by Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
