Loretta Schrijver, a veteran Dutch TV anchor and panelist on The Masked Singer, has passed away at the age of 68.
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The renowned Dutch television presenter died on March 26, after a battle with cancer, her family confirmed to RTL Nieuws.
In 2021, Schrijver was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent surgery, followed by a prolonged hospitalization and treatment, before being declared in remission. However, in a July column for Nouveau magazine, she revealed that the cancer had returned and metastasized, as reported by AD.
“Since last October, after the recordings of The Masked Singer, I have been on chemo, with the associated ups and downs. Difficult: yes. Sad: no,” Schrijver wrote then. “Maybe it’s a heavy point that is already behind me, so maybe I’m already used to it. I’m not gloomy, I take it as it comes. For the rest, everything is just stable, it doesn’t get more, it doesn’t get less.”
“There is a prognosis, but what good is that? If they say: You have a 50 percent chance of surviving five years, what do you know? Prognoses are useless, life consists of one day; you have to seize it,” she added.
Loretta Schrijver Broadcasting Career Dates Back to the 1980s
Born in New York in 1956, Schrijver relocated to the Netherlands with her parents as an infant. After studying history and translation, she embarked on a career in the entertainment industry. She started her career at RTL Nieuws in 1989, co-anchoring the news with Jeroen Pauw. Later, she worked with AVRO and Omroep MAX before returning to RTL Nieuws, becoming a well-known name in Dutch broadcasting.
Throughout her career, she has hosted RTL News and Coffee Time while also serving as a panelist on the Dutch version of the hit competition show, The Masked Singer. She joined the show in 2019 and remained a key part of the panel for six seasons, concluding with Season 6 earlier this year, according to her IMDb profile.
“From the start of RTL Nieuws in 1989, Loretta entered the living rooms,” editor-in-chief Ilse Opennee said in a heartfelt tribute. ”A warm personality with a beautiful, distinctive voice. She informed millions of people about the world news, in her own accessible way. Her laughter regularly checked with the editorial staff. We are very grateful to Loretta for everything she has done for RTL News.”