Birgit Wetzinger is an Austrian former flight attendant best known as the widow of three-time Formula One World Champion Niki Lauda.
Her role in Lauda’s story became widely known after she donated one of her kidneys to him in 2005, a decision that helped save the Formula One legend’s life. Years later, the couple married and built a family together before Lauda died in 2019.
Long before becoming Lauda’s wife, Wetzinger worked for Fly Niki, the airline founded by the former Ferrari and McLaren driver after his first retirement from Formula One.
It was through the airline that the two first met, beginning a relationship that would remain one of the most remarkable personal stories in modern motorsport.
While Lauda continued to build his legacy in racing, aviation and Formula One management, Wetzinger deliberately remained outside the spotlight.
She rarely gave interviews, made few public appearances outside official events and consistently protected her family’s privacy, even as interest in Lauda’s health and career continued to grow.
Her decision to donate a kidney became one of the defining moments of Lauda’s life away from racing. The transplant followed years of health complications stemming from the injuries he suffered during his near-fatal crash at the Nürburgring in 1976 and later kidney failure that required multiple transplants.
Medical specialists and Lauda himself publicly acknowledged the importance of Wetzinger’s donation in extending his life.
Today, Wetzinger remains a private figure whose story is inseparable from one of Formula One’s greatest champions.
Her life reflects loyalty, resilience and a determination to stay out of public attention despite being closely connected to one of motorsport’s most celebrated names.
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Birgit Wetzinger Biography
She was born in Austria and spent much of her life away from public attention before meeting Niki Lauda.
Birgit Wetzinger has never spoken extensively about her childhood, education, or family. As a result, many details frequently repeated online cannot be verified through reliable sources.
She has never publicly identified her parents or discussed her upbringing in interviews. There are no verified records confirming the names, occupations, or backgrounds of her parents or siblings.
Throughout her relationship with Lauda, Wetzinger chose to keep relatives away from public attention.
There is also no confirmed public information regarding Wetzinger’s education. Claims that she studied hotel management, aviation, or graduated from a particular university have circulated online for years, but official records or interviews have supported none.
The only verifiable aspect of her professional background before meeting Lauda is her work in commercial aviation.
Career
Birgit Wetzinger is a businesswoman who was a former flight attendant when she was much younger.
She had other jobs and careers while still navigating her life as an independent woman.
She had some little offers that she took on to support herself along the way, as a lot also needed to be sorted.
She continued pushing through other career paths, leading to some successful roads.
It is unknown what exactly she did before she married her husband, who brought her to the limelight.
It is known that she worked as a flight attendant for Lauda’s low-cost airline, Fly Niki.
Birgit Wetzinger earned a lot along the way, and she also did support herself in many ways.
Niki Lauda Wife
Birgit Wetzinger first met Niki Lauda while working as a flight attendant for Fly Niki, the Austrian airline he founded in 2003 after expanding his aviation business beyond Lauda Air.
At the time, Lauda had already established himself as one of the most influential figures in Formula One history.
He had won three World Drivers’ Championships, survived the near-fatal Nürburgring crash in 1976, returned to win another title in 1984 and successfully transitioned into aviation and broadcasting after retiring from racing.
Despite the 30-year age difference between them, the pair developed a close friendship that gradually became a relationship.
Neither Wetzinger nor Lauda publicly revealed exactly when they began dating. They deliberately kept their relationship private, avoiding the extensive media attention that surrounded Lauda throughout his career. That privacy remained a defining feature of their partnership.
Their relationship began during one of the most challenging periods of Lauda’s life. The former Ferrari and McLaren champion had lived with long-term health complications ever since suffering severe burns and lung damage during his crash at the Nürburgring in August 1976.
Those injuries continued to affect him decades after his racing career ended. Lauda had also experienced serious kidney problems. His first kidney transplant, donated by his brother Florian in 1997, initially proved successful but gradually began to fail during the early 2000s.
As Lauda’s condition worsened, he required another transplant.
The Kidney Donation
In 2005, Birgit Wetzinger made the decision that would define her public story. After discovering she was a compatible donor, she donated one of her kidneys to Niki Lauda.
The transplant proved successful and significantly improved Lauda’s health. The gesture attracted worldwide attention because Wetzinger was not yet his wife.
At the time, they were partners, making her willingness to undergo major surgery for Lauda an extraordinary act that was widely reported across Austria and the international sporting world.
Lauda later spoke openly about the donation, acknowledging that Wetzinger had played a vital role in saving his life.
Medical experts also regarded the transplant as a major success following the deterioration of his previous donor kidney.
Although Lauda remained under medical supervision for the rest of his life, the transplant allowed him to continue working in Formula One, aviation and television for many more years.
He returned to an active professional schedule that included:
- Formula One television analysis.
- Airline business interests.
- Advisory roles within Formula One teams.
Executive leadership with Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, where he later became non-executive chairman. The kidney donation remains one of the defining moments in Lauda’s personal life and transformed public perception of Wetzinger.
She became recognised for the extraordinary personal commitment that helped extend Lauda’s life. Even after the transplant received worldwide media coverage, Wetzinger avoided publicity.
She rarely discussed the operation publicly and continued living largely outside the spotlight while supporting Lauda through his business ventures and Formula One commitments.
Their relationship became known less for celebrity appearances and more for the resilience they showed while navigating Lauda’s ongoing health challenges.
Marriage
Three years after the kidney transplant, Birgit Wetzinger and Niki Lauda married in a private ceremony in 2008. Their wedding came after several years together and marked the beginning of a marriage that lasted until Lauda died in 2019.
Despite Lauda’s global fame, the couple kept the ceremony largely out of the public eye. They rarely discussed their personal lives in interviews, preferring to separate family life from Lauda’s role as one of Formula One’s most recognisable personalities.
Children
In September 2009, Wetzinger and Niki Lauda welcomed twins, a son named Max Lauda and a daughter named Mia Lauda.
The twins became the youngest members of Lauda’s growing family. Lauda already had children from previous relationships:
- Mathias Lauda, who followed his father into professional motorsport.
- Lucas Lauda, his second son from his first marriage.
- Christoph Lauda, born from another relationship and later acknowledged by Lauda.
Following the birth of Max and Mia, Lauda became the father of five children. Although his career often required extensive international travel, he frequently spoke about the importance of family during the later stages of his life.
During their marriage, Wetzinger remained largely absent from the media despite Lauda’s high-profile roles.
After retiring from racing, Lauda became: founder of successful airline businesses, a respected Formula One television analyst, and later non-executive chairman of Mercedes, where he played a significant role in rebuilding the team into one of the sport’s dominant forces alongside Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Wetzinger supported him throughout those years but rarely appeared publicly unless accompanying him at major Formula One events or official functions.
Although the 2005 kidney transplant significantly improved Lauda’s condition, health problems continued to affect him during the final decade of his life.
He underwent several medical procedures in subsequent years, including treatment linked to the long-term effects of the burns and lung damage suffered in his 1976 Nürburgring crash.
In 2018, Lauda underwent a lung transplant after contracting a severe lung disease. Throughout his lengthy recovery, Wetzinger remained by his side while also caring for their young children.
Her support during those difficult months drew admiration across the Formula One paddock, although she continued to avoid interviews or public attention.
Niki Lauda’s Death
On 20 May 2019, Niki Lauda died peacefully at the age of 70. His family confirmed that he passed away surrounded by loved ones after months of declining health.
Tributes poured in from across the sporting world. Formula One teams, drivers, governing bodies and fans honoured one of the sport’s greatest champions, remembering not only his achievements behind the wheel but also his leadership following retirement.
For Wetzinger, the loss ended a relationship that had spanned approximately 15 years and included some of the most challenging periods of Lauda’s life.
Despite intense public interest after his death, she continued to maintain the privacy that had characterised their marriage from the beginning.
Birgit Wetzinger Net Worth
Birgit Wetzinger’s net worth has never been publicly disclosed. Many websites publish net worth figures ranging from several million dollars to substantially higher amounts, but none of those estimates have been verified through official financial records or reliable reporting.
For that reason, it is not possible to state an accurate personal net worth.
Inheritance
Following Niki Lauda’s death in May 2019, Austrian media reported that his estate formed part of the inheritance process involving his widow and children.
Lauda accumulated significant wealth during his lifetime through several successful careers, including:
- Formula One racing.
- Airline businesses, including Lauda Air and Fly Niki.
- Television broadcasting.
- Executive roles in Formula One.
- Commercial partnerships and investments.
Multiple publications have estimated Lauda’s fortune at well over €100 million, although the exact value of his estate has never been officially confirmed.
The details of how his assets were distributed have also remained private. As a result, there is no verified public information confirming how much Wetzinger personally inherited.