Sonja Barend

Sonja Maria Barend (born 29 February 1940) is a Dutch television personality and former talk show host. Her talk show Sonja, which she presented since the 1970s, was noted for breaking taboos and allowing ordinary people a voice in public dialog. She retired from television in 2006, after four decades of television making. Barend has worked for television since 1966. From the late 1970s on she presented her own weekly talk show for the (socialist) VARA broadcasting organization, a show whose name was based on the day of transmission, e.g. Sonja op Maandag ("Sonja on Monday"). In 1996 Sonja op Zaterdag ("Saturday") came to an end, after the retirement of Ellen Blazer, her regular producer, with whom she collaborated from the beginning of her television career. Her show, which featured interview and public discussion, was known for allowing ordinary people to have their say. This included, for instance, the viewpoints of ethnic minorities, and relied to a great extent on Barend's personality and commitment. Barend was outspoken on political and ideological topics, and television viewers either loved or hated her. Especially in the 1970s and 1980s she was never afraid to openly discuss taboo topics—homosexuality, feminism, emancipation, and sexuality. According to Marcel van Da... ()