As one of the world's most prominent and revered figure skaters, Katarina Witt was born in Staaken, East Germany, and began professional skating during her teens, quickly ascending to the Olympic level (where she won two gold medals) and earning the titles of World, European, and National skating champion four, six, and eight times, respectively. Witt began occasional feature film appearances in the 1990s, first with a bit part as herself in the Tom Cruise comedy-drama Jerry Maguire (1996) and then with a supporting role (as Natacha Kirilova) alongside Robert De Niro and Jean Reno in John Frankenheimer's Ronin (1998). Also in 1998, Witt posed for Playboy, to astronomical sales figures. In 2009, Witt made headlines once again by emceeing the skating-themed competitive reality show Battle of the Blades, produced in Canada.