About
Dagmar Wöhrl is a German entrepreneur, television investor, and former politician who has stayed in the public eye for almost five decades. After representing Bavaria in the Bundestag for six terms, she pivoted to the start‑up world and joined the VOX hit Die Höhle der Löwen (“The Lion’s Den”) in 2017. Her warm yet direct style—paired with a keen eye for consumer products and social businesses—quickly turned her into one of the show’s most‑watched “lions.” Even in 2025 she is still hearing pitches, proving that retirement is nowhere on her horizon.
Beyond the studio, Wöhrl holds seats on several supervisory boards and travels widely in support of development projects, children’s charities, and animal causes. She marked her 70th birthday in May 2024 with a quiet family brunch, then danced the night away at a surprise party organized by her husband—proof that age really is just a number.
Before Fame
Dagmar Gabriele Winkler was born on 5 May 1954 in Stein, a small town near Nuremberg. She had drama lessons as a teenager and worked part-time in her parents’ fashion shop, which created an early passion for style and public speaking. In 1977 she competed in the Miss Germany pageant “for fun,” took the crown, and placed in the top group of several international contests later in the same year. The whirlwind of publicity provided her with valuable contacts, but it also led her to believe that she desired to be appreciated for her mind, in addition to her beauty.
Committed to developing a serious career, Wöhrl read law at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. After graduation in 1987, she worked for a number of years before finding a passion for public policy. A successful election to Nuremberg’s city council pitted the door to Berlin, and in 1994 she won a Bundestag seat for the Christian Social Union (CSU). She specialized in economic development and worked as Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development between 2005 and 2009.
Trivia
- Serial backer of young founders: Since her first season on Die Höhle der Löwen, Wöhrl has invested in more than ninety start‑ups, ranging from sustainable pet food to yoga accessories. She often includes a mentorship clause because she likes to guide new entrepreneurs through early bumps.
- No deal without purpose: Friends say she turns down ideas if she cannot see a clear social or environmental benefit. Favorite deals include a water‑purification filter for disaster zones and vegan leather made from leftover apples.
- Birthday sparkle: For her 70th she treated herself to a vintage‑style sequined gown in emerald green that echoed her pageant days. Photos of the night lit up German social media.
- Animal advocate: Two rescue dogs share her Nuremberg home, and she is a patron of local shelters.
- Global citizen: In June 2025 she walked the red carpet at the “Ein Herz für Kinder” charity gala in Berlin, then jetted to Paris for the VivaTech conference the very next day, joking that staying in one city too long makes her restless.
Family Life
Dagmar married former airline entrepreneur and investor Hans Rudolf Wöhrl in 1984, and the pair are often described as a “team of equals” who still swap business ideas over breakfast. They have two sons: Marcus, born 1985, who now sits on the family company’s supervisory board, and Christopher, born 1981. Christopher tragically died in a car accident in 2001, an event that reshaped much of Dagmar’s charitable work. The family established the Emanuel Wöhrl Foundation—named for his middle name—to support children in crisis regions.
Despite demanding schedules, the Wöhrls protect certain rituals. Sunday lunch is always home‑cooked, and every December the entire clan volunteers at the Nuremberg Christmas market to raise funds for UNICEF. Dagmar jokes that her secret for balancing love and work is “saying yes to the right projects and no to perfect hair days.”
Associated With
On the television panel, Wöhrl exchanges repartee and investment proposals with fellow “lions” Ralf Dümmel, Carsten Maschmeyer, Judith Williams, and Nils Glagau. Producers also gave her more airtime in season 2025 after Tijen Onaran left, with a view to showcasing more women as leaders on the show.
Her political life put her in the same league as top stars too. She served in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s inaugural coalition government and had a cordial rivalry with CSU peer Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg—teasing him once for using her staff’s coffee machine. Behind the camera, founders credit her with remaining invested long after deals are done; she’ll still shoot a quick voice note if she hears about a production glitch or hiring headache.
Recently she has appeared on the same panels as tech philanthropist Bill Gates on global health and conversed sustainability with climate activist Luisa Neubauer, demonstrating that her network extends across generations and ideologies. In parliamentary corridors, TV studios, or benefit galas, Dagmar Wöhrl maintains the same aim: taking flash-of-genius ideas and making them long-term impacts—and having fun in the process.
