Shai Golden

Shai Golden was born in 1971 in Haifa

Shai Golden was born in Haifa on April 7, 1971. His mother left him and his brother Ran at Rothschild Hospital, and he grew up in a children's home and then an orphanage in Kfar Yehezkel. At 6 he and Ran were adopted by Evelyn and Arie Golden, immigrants from Romania, and he grew up in Ramat Gan.

He studied at Blich High School. He served as a combat soldier in the Artillery Corps during the First Intifada, then worked for El Al and briefly as a literature teacher. He holds a BA in comparative literature from Bar-Ilan University and an MA in Hebrew literature from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

He began as a journalist at Walla and later worked at Yedioth Ahronoth, Maariv and Haaretz. He edited the Haaretz weekend magazine from 2009 to 2011 and was deputy editor of Maariv until 2012. Since 2011 he has co-hosted a weekly show on Radio Tel Aviv with Sharon Kidon.

On television he hosted shows on Channel 2, Reshet 13 and Channel 14, and acted in drama series. He has written several books, many based on his own life, and his autobiography The Good Son was staged at Habima Theatre in 2015.

He lives in Or Akiva, is divorced and has 2 children. In March 2024 he said he has clinical depression and anxiety.