Claudia de Breij

Claudia de Breij, born in Utrecht on 13 maart 1975, is a Dutch cabaretiere, presenter, singer, radio DJ and writer. She obtained her mavo, havo and vwo diplomas at the Koningin Wilhelmina College in Culemborg and then studied Algemene Letteren in Utrecht for two years. In the autumn of 1995 she took kleinkunst lessons at the Parnassos Cultuurcentrum of the Universiteit Utrecht and promptly won its cabaret festival. After being rejected by the Amsterdamse Kleinkunstacademie, she continued working on her theatre career on her own.

She made the theatre programmes De Wilde Frisheid (2002-2003), Claudia Zuigt (2003-2005), Hallo Lieve Mensen (2005-2007), iClaudia (2007-2009), Hete Vrede (2009-2011), Alleen (2013), Teerling (2014-2015) and #NU (2017-2020). The programme Hete Vrede was voted the best cabaret programme of the year in 2010, earning De Breij the Poelifinario. The opening song of Hete Vrede, 'Mag Ik Dan Bij Jou', became widely known through television appearances, and in September 2014 De Breij and composers Sander Geboers and Rogier Wagenaar received a platinum record for 50,000 downloads of the single. In 2012 she founded her own agency Breijwerk, and in 2015 she received the Louis Davidsring from Herman van Veen.

On radio she presented BNN United on NPO Radio1 from the start of BNN in 1998, and later made programmes for 3FM such as ...& dit is Claudia and Claudia d'r op. On television she presented VARA Laat/VARA Live and worked on De Wereld Draait Door. In 2016 she became the first female cabaret performer whose Oudejaarsconference was broadcast live on television, watched by 2.5 million viewers. Her 2019 Oudejaarsconference, broadcast from the Koninklijke Schouwburg in Den Haag, focused heavily on democracy and the migration crisis, and her third, in 2022 in Groningen, addressed topics including the gas extraction problems in Groningen. On 10 maart 2026 it was announced that she would again present the oudejaarsconference in 2026, for the fourth time. She won the Zilveren RadioSter six times between 2006 and 2014.