Juliane Köhler, born August 6, 1965, in Göttingen as the daughter of a puppeteer, attended acting studio Gmelin in Munich but went to New York in 1985 to study acting with Uta Hagen. She made her stage debut in 1988 at Staatstheater Hannover and was offered to become a cast member. Five years later, she went to Munich to join Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel and later the Residenztheater where she became famous with her performance in the title role of Arthur Schnitzler"s play "Fräulein Else".

In 1997, Köhler cancelled her contract after a conflict with the Residenztheater over her commitment to the feature film "Aimée & Jaguar" (1998) by former theatre director Max Färberböck who wanted Köhler to be in the film. Iin the end, Juliane Köhler benefitted from this argument: Her performance of a homosexual woman during the Third Reich won her a Silver Bear at the Berlinale (together with Maria Schrader) as well as the German film award. Virtually overnight, Köhler became one of the most promising actresses in German cinema. She managed to further consolidate this image with impressive performances in Caroline Link"s "Nirgendwo in Afrika" ("Nowhere in Africa", 2002) and in Oliver Hirschbiegel"s "Der Untergang" ("Downfall", 2004, as Eva Braun). Although Köhler usually plays powerful and strong-willed characters, she portrays an insecure, secluded woman in "Mondkalb" (2008), directed by Sylke Enders, and once again proves her enormous versatility as an actress.

Following supporting roles in two films set around WW II, "Ein Leben für ein Leben - Adam Resurrected" (2008) and "Anonyma - Eine Frau in Berlin" (2008), she shined in the role of Luise von Briest in Hermine Huntgeburth"s adaptation of Fontane"s "Effie Briest". Köhler also appeared in international productions like Cost Gavra"s "Eden à l"Ouest" (F/G/I, 2009) and the Italian crime drama Un vita tranquilla" (2010). On TV, she played a recurring character in the acclaimed miniseries "Klimawechsel", directed by Vanessa Jopp and based on an idea by Doris Dörrie.

In 2011, Juliane Köhler starred in the feature film "Das Blaue vom Himmel", playing the daughter of a woman suffering from dementia and uncovering a long-kept family secret.