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Jauch was raised in the Berlin residential area of Lichterfelde-West. He attended St. Ursula, a Catholic elementary school in Berlin-Zehlendorf, and later served as an altar boy in the Catholic Church. After completing his education at Steglitz Old Language High School in Berlin with a diploma grade of 3.1, he enrolled at the German Journalism School in Munich. In 1975, at 19 years old, he became the youngest graduate at that time. Following graduation, he studied politics and modern history at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. His journalism career began in 1975 as a freelancer for RIAS Berlin Sportfunk. In 1977, Jauch joined Bayerischer Rundfunk's sports department, later working as a "Zeitfunk" editor and radio correspondent in Bonn. Starting in 1985, he collaborated with Thomas Gottschalk on the newly launched "B3 radio show," with Jauch managing the journalistic content and Gottschalk handling the musical segments.
At 29, Jauch gained his first television experience reporting for the B3 program "Rätselflug" and subsequently hosted the popular youth show "Live from Alabama." In 1986, ZDF took notice of him, and by March 1987, he was hosting the program "So ein Zoff." That same year, during the International Radio Exhibition in Berlin, he presented the daily afternoon show "Na ihre!" Jauch quickly became a standout talent in ZDF entertainment. At Dieter Kürten's request, he replaced Harry Valérien as one of the five hosts of the "Current Sports Studio" following the Seoul Summer Olympics, debuting on October 29, 1988. After leaving Bayerischer Rundfunk in summer 1989, Jauch worked exclusively for ZDF as a television journalist, presenting the show "People" until 1996 and co-directing the "Big Show of the Eighties" with Thomas Gottschalk. In 1989, he signed with RTL, where he became presenter and head of "sternTV" from April 1990.
Between September 1992 and September 1994, Jauch also served as editor-in-chief, achieving market shares up to 25 percent with the show. From mid-1992, he worked as a program coordinator at the private "Berliner Rundfunk." In June 1995, he renewed his contract with RTL. In 1998, he launched the show "Millionaire Wanted! - The SKL Show" on RTL. Starting in September 1999, Jauch hosted the successful "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" and in April 2001, he presented the first season of "The 10 Million SKL Show." He also gained a large following as a sports commentator for RTL, covering events such as the ski jumping competition at the Four Hills Tournament and the Football Champions League. In 2000, Jauch founded his production company "i&u TV," which stands for information and entertainment. This company produced various programs, including "sternTV," hosted by Jauch, and the "70s/80s/90s Show," hosted by Hape Kerkeling and Oliver Geissen.
Jauch has received numerous awards for his journalistic work, including the "Golden Camera," the "Bavarian Television Prize," the "Tele-Star," the "Golden Lion," the "German Television Prize," and the "Adolf Grimme Prize." In several representative surveys, German TV audiences ranked Jauch as the most popular show presenter, ahead of colleagues like Thomas Gottschalk and Jörg Pilawa. In September 2003, he received the Audience Prize at the German Television Prize. Two months later, he was awarded the "Bobby" media prize by the Federal Association for Life Support for People with Intellectual Disabilities, recognizing his sensitive approach toward disabled individuals.
In autumn 2004, Jauch's quiz show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" set a record with a 27.7% audience share (8.96 million viewers). Mid-October 2004, he was ranked 14th among the most influential television producers by "Gentlemen's Quarterly" (GQ), based on a jury of media journalists. In November 2004, Jauch received the "Bambi" award for "TV Event of the Year" for "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? - The Celebrity Special." A January 2005 viewer survey placed him as the most popular TV personality, ahead of Johannes B. Kerner, Jörg Pilawa, Thomas Gottschalk, Sandra Maischberger, Harald Schmidt, and Reinhold Beckmann. Jauch resided with his wife in Potsdam; they have two children born in 1989 and 1993. In December 1997, they adopted a 13-month-old girl from Siberia, and in early 2000, they adopted another girl from Siberia. The couple married in July 2006 after 18 years together.
Following Sabine Christiansen's announcement to end her political talk show in 2007, Jauch was considered as a potential successor for the time slot but declined in January 2007. During the 2010 Football World Cup, he received the German Television Prize in the "Best Sports Program" category. From 2011, he hosted the weekly ARD talk show "Günther Jauch," airing Sunday evenings at 9:45 p.m., featuring stars and prominent politicians like Chancellor Angela Merkel, Peer Steinbrück, and former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. In 2012, he was honored with the audience award for hosting, the "Golden Hen.
