Biography
Who is Liv Boeree?
Early life and education
Born in Hollingbourne, Kent, in the South East of England, Olivia Fleur Boeree attended Ashford School. After her secondary education, she enrolled at the University of Manchester. There, she earned a First Class Honours degree in Physics with Astrophysics.
During her university years, Liv explored various interests beyond academics. She played lead guitar for heavy metal bands named Dissonance and Nemhaim. She also modeled for alternative clothing companies such as Alchemy Gothic.
Poker career highlights
Liv Boeree entered the poker industry in 2005 after being selected for the reality television show Ultimatepoker.com Showdown, which aired on Five. During the production, she received coaching from professional players Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, and Dave Ulliott. She later won the 2008 Ladbrokes European Ladies Championships for $30,000.
In April 2010, she won the European Poker Tour main event in Sanremo, earning €1,250,000. This victory made her the third woman ever to claim an EPT title. She also won event #2 at the 2017 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas alongside partner Igor Kurganov. Her total live tournament earnings exceed $6,669,290.
Television and speaking
Beyond the card table, Liv Boeree has hosted several television programs. Her credits include The Weather Channel series Weird Earth, Discovery Channel's The Mind Control Freaks, and Red Bull TV's MindGamers. She also co-hosted the UK and Ireland Poker Tour on Channel 4.
She is an active public speaker regarding probability, effective altruism, and science communication. She delivered a TEDx talk at TEDxManchester in 2018 about the benefits of thinking in probabilities. She also spoke at the TED 2018 Conference in Vancouver. Also, she has appeared as a guest on podcasts hosted by Lex Fridman and Sean M. Carroll to discuss game theory and existential risks.
Philanthropy and personal life
In 2014, Liv co-founded the organization Raising for Effective Giving with Igor Kurganov. This group promotes rational approaches to charity and advises donors on effective altruism. By 2020, the organization had raised over $14,000,000 for various causes. She is also a member of Giving What We Can.
Liv frequently advocates for safer development of artificial intelligence and raises concerns regarding industrial animal farming. In 2024, she pledged 20% of her World Series of Poker winnings, totaling $560,000, to animal welfare causes. She became an ambassador for Longview Philanthropy in 2020. The University of Hull awarded her a Doctorate of Science, Honoris Causa, in 2023 for her STEM outreach work. She married Igor Kurganov at the Burning Man festival in 2025.
Birthday and age
Liv Boeree was born on July 18, 1984, which makes Liv 42 years old today. That birthday falls under the Cancer sign. Liv shares the date with 29 other famous people.
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