Leontien Ceulemans

About Leontien Ceulemans

Leontien was a Dutch actress, television and radio presenter, and voice artist. She was born on 8 January 1952 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and grew up there. Her mother was actress Hetty Berger (active in theatre, radio, and TV), and her father was guitarist and vocalist Jan Ceulemans (who worked with various radio orchestras).
The media environment of her parents exposed her to broadcasting from a very young age. She made her radio debut at age 3 in the AVRO children's program Kleutertje luister and later sang with the AVRO Children's Choir. She also had an early TV appearance at age 11. Initially interested in dance, she trained at the Scapino Ballet. This led to dance performances on TV shows like Johnny en Rijk, Zaterdagavondakkoorden, and the pop program Moef ga-ga. She later trained as an actress and began working in theatre.
She had a varied career spanning acting, presenting, and voice work from the 1970s onward:Early presenting and acting (1970s): TV presenting debut in 1972 with the VARA pop music show Popzien. She acted in series like Vader en Zoon, Zwerven met Swiebertje, the 1975 film/TV adaptation Oorlogswinter (Winter in Wartime), and children's series De holle bolle boom. She also did film, radio, and work for stations like Veronica and TROS.
She is best known as the first presenter of the NOS children's news program Jeugdjournaal. She helped develop the show as an editor/presenter before its launch and presented for nearly two years before leaving due to conflicts with the editorial staff (including criticism focused on her appearance rather than content).
She continued acting (e.g., guest roles in Goede tijden, slechte tijden, other series) and did voice-over work (including for Kindernet and animated productions). She presented/produced arts and culture programs on Classic FM and other shows. Around 1991, she appeared in a pictorial for Playboy (Netherlands).
She was active in radio and had various other presenting gigs, including the English-language European Business Weekly.DeathLeontien Ceulemans died on 28 July 2022 at age 70 in the Rosa Spier Huis in Laren, Netherlands, after a prolonged illness following a fall. She had withdrawn from public life in her later years due to health issues. She donated her body to science, so there was no traditional funeral.