Simon Verhoeven was born in Munich on June 20 1972 as the son of actress Senta Berger and director Michael Verhoeven. Following his high school graduation in 1991, he enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York to study acting, but eventually quit after one year. He then studied Jazz composition and film music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. During that time, he also wrote score music for his father"s film "Mutters Courage".

His dream of becoming a writer-director finally materialized when he was accepted at the NYU"s renowned Tisch School of Arts. He graduated in 1999 and one year later completed "100 Pro", his first feature-length film as director, writer and composer. The film was nominated for the Förderpreis Deutscher Film. In 2003, Verhoeven – who was a promising football talent in his youth – played German side legend Ottmar Walter in Sönke Wortmann"s "Das Wunder von Bern". He continued to act, appearing amongst others in Doris Dörrie"s "Der Fischer und seine Frau", Peter Gersina"s "Mädchen, Mädchen 2 – Loft oder Liebe" and several TV productions. In 2008, he played the role of Jürgen Vietor in "Mogadischu", Roland Suso Richter"s TV dramatization of the 1977 hijacking of German aircraft "Landhut". The film went on to win two Golden Cameras and the 2009 German Television Award.

He returned to the director"s chair with "Männerherzen", for which he also wrote the screenplay. The comedy starring Christian Ulmen, Til Schweiger and Nadja Uhl became a box office success and won the 2009 Bavarian Film Award for Best Screenplay. Verhoeven reassembled his cast for the 2011 sequel "Männerherzen...und die ganz, ganz große Liebe".