Never one to sit still, Kinga has tested herself for the past 19 years by traveling the globe...scuba diving, free diving, spear fishing, surfing, jumping out of airplanes, spelunking and swimming with sharks as a writer, producer and on camera journalist for networks such as CBS, NBC, ABC, USA, AMC, Travel Channel, Fox Sports, Universal Sports, Food Network, Current TV, Syfy, EPIX and National Geographic.
Kinga was born in Warsaw, Poland into a family of explorers and adventurers. Her dad, a geologist, trekked repeatedly across Europe and her mom, trained in botany, can give the Latin name of every plant. Expeditions are in her genes. Her folks believed in regular road trips, camping, cultural exploration, photography and natural sciences. She didn't stand a chance of becoming anything other than the world wandering, adventurous, story telling soul she grew up to be.
She has traveled the world reporting on intense subjects like police corruption in Mexico, gangs in LA, women in the sex trade, humanitarian and environmental causes, world conflict and natural disasters. On the flip side she has explored the night life, festivals and exotic eats of the world's most vibrant cities.
Kinga was one of the original on air journalists to launch Al Gore's Emmy Award winning Current TV, where she covered everything from travel, car culture and entertainment to current issues and hard hitting vanguard journalism stories that put her in the line of fire…sometimes literally.
As an on air producer for Syfy's Legend Quest, a Da-Vinci-Code-meets-Indiana-Jones style adventure show traversing the globe in search of mysterious artifacts, Kinga traveled to 13 countries in two months exploring some of the world's most exotic destinations. The team investigated sunken churches in Ethiopia, trekked the Andes in Peru, went spelunking in the Philippines, dived Mexican cenotes, rode camels through the desert in Jordan, located one of the oldest known churches in a maximum security prison in Israel and braved rough seas to access remote islands off Scotland's west coast.
For National Geographic Kinga co-hosted America's Lost Treasures, traveling across the United States in search of hidden links to America's past, authenticating artifacts and telling the stories that connect our past to our present. The items from the show went on display at the National Geographic Museum in Washington DC. Kinga's background includes a minor in anthropology and a fascination with history.
Kinga has done several projects for Travel Channel including The Wild Side with Kinga Philipps, which had her kite surfing, bungee jumping, free diving and mountain biking across the US; the network's yearly special The Trip, where Travel Channel talent team up to show off exciting destinations; Travel Hacks, an animated multi part series written and hosted by Kinga and based on her more off beat and comical adventure travel moments and the award winning THE REAL, a comprehensive locals perspective of exotic destinations...repeatedly nominated and winning Tellys, Webbys and the Cynopsis Model D...among others. THE REAL is currently one of Travel Channel's premier shows on Facebook Watch.
Her latest project with Travel Channel is the new series Off the Map, which will go into production in June 2019 and air in late fall. Kinga, along with co-host JJ Kelley, will travel the world investigating unsolved mysteries that took place in some of the planet's most harrowing and remote locations.
Currently, Kinga is on the road working on the six episode documentary series, Enslaved. As a journalist and scuba diver she is part of the team diving shipwrecks all over the world to tell the profound stories of the transatlantic slave trade. Enslaved will premiere on EPIX in early 2020. The series is being hosted by Samuel L. Jackson.
Kinga is also the regular travel expert for Beond TV, a morning program on KDOC LA, ROKU and online that is viewed by almost 6 million viewers weekly.
As a writer, she has two columns for Real Clear Life and Inside Hook: Off the Beaten Path, a modern nomads guide to a world less traveled that explores some of the last bastions of wilderness this planet has to offer; and the acclaimed Real Life Laura Croft series that highlights inspiring and accomplished women. She is also a regular contributor to Adventure Journal and her travel expertise has appeared in a variety of publications including Travel + Leisure, Martha Stewart Weddings and Readers Digest.
Kinga is a member of the prestigious Explorers Club. She joins the likes of Elon Musk, James Cameron, Neil Armstrong, Robert Ballard, Silvia Earle, David Attenborough and many others in this extraordinary family of explorers, who over the past 114 years, have dedicated themselves to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration, resource conservation and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore.
In her free time, Kinga explores a singular fascination with the ocean, free diving (see below), scuba diving (she is advanced open water, nitrox and dry suit certified), surfing, spearfishing to harvest her own food, exotic travel and sharks (those are her two friends from Guadalupe Island, MX swimming up top)... followed just slightly by a love of solo adventure travel, charity work, exotic foods and action sports. She lives in Malibu, CA to be close to the beach at all times.
Kinga is a board member of the nonprofit environmental group, Shark Allies, dedicated to changing the image of sharks and conserving our oceans. She gives yearly shark talks aboard the HORIZON, a live aboard eco tour that visits white sharks in their native habitat off the coast of Mexico. She is also a board member of Now Art LA, a non profit dedicated to curating and supporting public art and an ambassador for Waves for Water, on org committed to providing clean water to those in need.
