TV star tells her story How two family dramas shook Sandra Studer's world

The SRF film "The Sandra Studer Story" shows a career between applause and a state of emergency: while the entertainer shines on stage, her family is hit by two strokes of fate.

Sandra Studer's ESC story begins with a resounding defeat: in 1990, a year before her first participation in the international final, she finished last in the Swiss preliminary round despite being the favorite.

"When I look at the TV pictures today, I can see fear in my eyes. I was 21, had never sung in front of such a large audience and didn't know how to move," says Studer in the new SRF film "The Sandra Studer Story".

She doesn't see her last place - competing under her mother's surname Simó at the time - as a defeat, but chalks it up to experience.

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A year later, Studer entered the Swiss preliminary round again - even though many friends advised her not to.

This time she made it to the international final in Rome. There she even made the Swiss TV audience dream of victory with her song "Canzone Per Te". In the end, it was enough for a great fifth place.

Sandra Studer often hides her light under a bushel

Sandra Studer has been an integral part of the Swiss television and show business landscape for 37 years - as a singer, presenter, theater and musical actress.

Despite her many professional successes, she repeatedly emphasizes the importance of family and private life: "The garden also needs watering," she says in an interview with "Schweizer Familie".

Together with her husband, lawyer Luka Müller, she is raising their four children Gian (27), Lili (25), Nina (19) and Julia (18). "I was lucky that I had a partner at my side who supported me in my sometimes insecure and irregular job. That meant I was able to take up an offer when it suited me," says Studer.

Her modesty is typical of her: the daughter of a Catalan mother and a Swiss father often hides her light under a bushel.

So it's not surprising that Sandra Studer is initially unsure whether she wants a movie to be made about her and her career. "Because I didn't think I was interesting enough for a documentary," she says in an interview with the online media magazine "Persönlich".

She continues: "But then you look back and realize that you're now a TV dinosaur."

Daughter Nina is born three months prematurely

In addition to Sandra Studer, her husband, their four children and other companions have their say in the film and show the many facets of her life - as an entertainer, presenter and colleague as well as a sister, wife and mother.

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They also talk about two family strokes of fate. When Sandra Studer's second youngest daughter Nina was born three months prematurely in 2007, everything changed at a stroke. Nina weighed just 870 grams at birth.

"An earthquake," says Sandra Studer. "Suddenly there's a heap of life that should actually still be inside me." The weeks in neonatology, the department for premature babies, left a deep impression on her. "I remember this time as if a cheese bell had been placed over my life."

Everything else in Studer's life suddenly lost meaning. Fear and hope dominated the daily lives of Sandra Studer and her husband Luka Müller. Fortunately, everything turned out well. Nina is doing well today. "She is our miracle," says Studer in the film.

The next family blow followed in 2019: Studer's husband Luka Müller was diagnosed with cancer. This was followed by operations, radiotherapy and relapses - a constant wait for new results.

"Now we're waiting. I'm sure it will start again," says Müller calmly. And continues: "I haven't slept badly at night because of the cancer."

Müller does not seem - at least outwardly - to be struggling with the challenges of the disease. According to Studer, her husband's handling of the disease has "knocked her socks off".

Flaschka: "Sandra makes the people next to her shine"

"Mamma Mia!" - an exclamation that suits mom-of-four Sandra Studer. The entertainer has been an Abba fan since childhood and has been playing the leading role in the musical of the same name in Zurich's Maag Hall since last week.

In the film, she explains what fascinates her most about her work: "The thrill was always the live performance. So always have it in the back of your mind: Something can happen that I can't prepare for."

Despite all the excitement and nervousness, Sandra Studer never forgets her fellow human beings. Or as Dominik Flaschka, the director of "Mamma Mia!" explains: "Sandra lets the people next to her shine."

Perhaps this attribute also ensured that the ESC 2025 in Basel became the highlight of Sandra Studer's career to date.

More than 30 years after her fifth place at the ESC in Rome, one of Studer's lifelong dreams has come true: she will present the ESC final together with Hazel Brugger and Michelle Hunziker.

Brugger and Studer are real family people

During the intensive weeks in Basel, a friendship develops with co-presenter Hazel Brugger, with whom Sandra Studer also presents the two semi-finals as a duo.

For comedian Brugger, entertainer Studer is the perfect partner in this extreme situation. The reason behind this: Both women are pronounced family people.

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According to Hazel Brugger, she has never worked with a mother who was able to describe exactly how she was feeling. "And who understood so well how hard the balancing act between two small children and a gig is."

At the end of the film, Sandra Studer looks back on her career with gratitude: "There were moments when I asked myself how I deserved this. It's not often in life that something stays with you for so long."

She continued: "The ESC was the beginning of everything. For it to come back into my life in this way - it's nothing other than a gift from the universe."

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