She Was in Sharknado 4

Volcanoes fascinate her. She loves Tenerife. And one should always live in the present—because dwelling in the past prevents you from enjoying the moment, and you can’t shape the future if you keep looking backwards. This is the depth of wisdom Sarah Knappik offered Playboy for their October 2017 issue.

Knappik is a platinum-blonde television personality from the small town of Fritzlar, and she has appeared on essentially every reality format that German television has ever produced. Germany’s Next Topmodel. Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!—the German I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! Promi Big Brother. Promi Shopping Queen. There’s something almost admirable about the completionism of it.

But the list doesn’t stop there. Total Blackout – Stars im Dunkeln. Wild Girls – Auf High Heels durch Afrika. Das Model und der Freak. Berlin – Tag & Nacht. Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten. And, somehow, the crowning achievement: Sharknado 4. That last credit isn’t a career milestone—it’s a punchline that reveals itself as a résumé.

I keep returning to the Tenerife comment. Volcanoes. The present tense. There she is, a woman who has cycled through every available format that exists, who has built a career out of simply showing up, and her philosophy is: don’t look back. I can’t tell if that’s shallow or correct. Maybe both.