Who Is Niki Lauda's Wife Birgit Wetzinger? She Saved His Life Once

Legendary Formula One driver, Niki Lauda, was married two times. He had vowed never to marry again after his 1991 divorce from his first wife, Marlene Knaus, but later married Birgit Wetzinger in 2008.

Niki Lauda is considered one of the greatest Formula One racers in history. He won three World Championships racing for Ferrari and McLaren, two of which came after he suffered a life-threatening injury at the 1976 German Grand Prix, which left him scarred for life, losing most of his right ear, hair, and eyebrows.

Lauda's first marriage lasted over a decade, and the couple welcomed two children. It took almost two decades until Lauda remarried. After dating Birgit Wetzinger--who had donated a kidney to him after just eight months together--for about four years, they wed in 2008 and had two children before Lauda's passing in 2019.

A Potential Account of How Niki Met His First Wife Is Reenacted in 'Rush'

In 2013, a biographical movie based on the rivalry between two legendary Formula One drivers, James Hunt and Lauda, was released by Universal Pictures. The film is centered mainly on their racing exploits in the 1976 Formula One Championship but also includes a glimpse into the racers' private lives at the time.

An important thing to note is that only some things depicted in the movie are factual. For example, the rivalry between Lauda, played by Daniel Brühl, and Hunt, played by Chris Hemsworth, was exaggerated for dramatic effect. The pair were not as hostile to each other and even shared a flat in the early stages of their careers.

Nevertheless, many of the details from the film were accurate. Lauda was consulted during the making of the film and gave his approval to how the film was made. In "Rush," one of the film's most exciting parts comes when Lauda meets his first wife, Knaus.

According to the film, the two met when Lauda hitch-hiked in Knaus' car. After noticing some issues with her vehicle, the formula one driver notifies her, but she is adamant nothing is wrong with the vehicle as it recently got serviced. Shortly, the car breaks down, and the pair begin looking for someone to give them a lift.

A pair of Italian nationals, who recognize Lauda, offer them a ride. They are excited about his recent signing with Ferrari, an Italian automobile company, so they ask him to drive their car. A conversation with Knaus leads Lauda to go very fast, showing his driving prowess, which impresses the German socialite.

When they met, Lauda had reportedly been dating Mariella Reininghaus for eight years while Knaus was seeing German-Austrian actor Curt Jurgens. Jurgens is popularly known for portraying Karl Stromberg, the villain in James Bond's "The Spy Who Loved Me" starring Roger Moore and Barbara Back.

Soon after that episode, the pair began a relationship which led to marriage a few months later in 1976. The couple welcomed two children, Mathias, who followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a racing driver, and Lukas, his brother's manager. They divorced in 1991 after an alleged extra-marital affair by Lauda.

Niki's Second Wife Saved His Life by Donating a Kidney to Him

After the divorce from Knaus, Lauda remained unmarried for about 17 years before marrying his second wife, Wetzinger. They potentially met while Wetzinger was working as a flight attendant at the now-defunct Lauda Air owned by the former racing driver.

Although Wetzinger was 30 years younger than Lauda, she greatly loved the Austrian racing driver, even beyond what he expected. She sacrificed to save Lauda's life after he suffered kidney failure. That was the second time; the first transplant failed in 2005.

Efforts to have his son Lukas give him a kidney were fruitless as they did not match. However, Wetzinger came to the rescue of the ailing Lauda. Despite Lauda's reluctance at the idea of her providing the kidney, she was adamant about doing so.

The need for a kidney transplant came less than a year into their relationship; hence, Lauda did not think it was appropriate for her to do that for him. He recalled:

"I asked my son Lucas if he tested to donate a kidney, but it did not fit. Birgit then said she would do the test, but I asked, 'Why would you do the test'? 'Because I want to,' she said. I said, 'you will never ever donate your kidney, because I'm ill and, I've known you for eights. So I would never do that.' (sic)"

After thinking about it, they finally agreed to have the procedure, and Lauda claimed that he was praying nothing wrong would happen to her. The process went smoothly, and he got a fully functioning kidney.

A few years later, Lauda, who had vowed never to marry again after his divorce from Knaus, changed his mind and exchanged vows with Wetzinger in 2008. He reiterated that he married her out of love and not because she had helped him:

"I married her, not because of the kidney donation, but because she was the right woman to marry. And then we got twins, Max and Mia. I was really lucky to have all these things happen."

Lauda felt he had been given a second chance at fatherhood when he and Wetzinger had the twins. He admitted that when his two oldest sons were born, he missed out on much of that as he was always busy with his racing career.

For Lauda, the birth of Max and Mia was a shot at redemption, and he grabbed it with both hands, enjoying his time with his kids, who he said made him feel young. Still, the three-time World Champion said he had no regrets about the past and was glad he still had a great relationship with Mathias and Lukas.