Nena (German Singer)

Gabriele Susanne Kerner, better known by her stage name Nena, is a German singer born on 24th March 1960. She rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". In that same year, the band re-recorded this song in English as "99 Red Balloons".

Nena's re-recording of some of the band's old hit songs as a solo artist, produced by the co-composer of most of them, her former Nena band colleague and keyboard player Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, rekindled her solo career in 2002. Combined with the success of the Nena band years, she has sold over 25 million records, making her the most successful German pop singer in chart history. She has black hair, grey eyes, and a slim build. She is 5'6" tall.

Nena started dating Swiss actor Benedict Freitag shortly after the band separated in 1987. The couple had three children together, the first being Christopher Daniel, who was born disabled allegedly due to medical errors made during the birth that caused Nena to go into cardiac arrest. He died at the age of 11 months. In 1990 they had twins, Larissa Maria and Sakias Manuel. Nena later started a relationship with drummer and music producer Philipp Palm, with whom she had two children, Samuel Vincent (1995), and Simeon Joel (1997). The couple and their four children currently live in Hamburg. She has been active since 1977, and at 66 years old, her career spans nearly five decades.