Gallery
All Pictures (15)Biography
Luise Kinseher – cabaret artist, actress, and author – was born on January 4, 1969, in Geiselhöring, a small town in Lower Bavaria. The daughter of a master painter, she grew up in a craftsman's household. After finishing high school, she moved to Munich, where she studied German literature, theatre studies, and history. In 1994, she completed her master's thesis on the cabaret performer Sigi Zimmerschied, with whom she would later collaborate on several occasions. She made her first appearance as a cabaret artist in 1992. Just a year later, she joined the ensemble of the Iberl-Bühne, a traditional Munich theatre, where she performed in over 800 shows until 1998.
Her screen career began in the 1990s with roles in popular German TV series such as "Tatort" ("Schattenwelt", 1996), "Anwalt Abel", "SOKO München", "Die Rosenheim-Cops", and "Alle meine Töchter." She gained broader recognition playing Hanna Graf in Franz Xaver Bogner's cult courtroom comedy "Café Meineid" (2000–2003), and later as police station chief Thekla Eichenseher in the hit series "München 7" (2004–2016). Altogether, she appeared in over 80 episodes of these two series, both deeply rooted in Bavarian culture.
Kinseher also appeared in several feature films. She had supporting roles in "Beste Zeit" ("Best Times," 2007), the first installment of Marcus H. Rosenmüller's coming-of-age trilogy set in rural Bavaria, in the socially-conscious comedy "Vorne ist verdammt weit weg" (2007, directed by Thomas Heinemann), and in the 2017 adaptation of the bestselling novel "Das Pubertier"("Teenosaurus Rex") alongside Jan Josef Liefers, Heike Makatsch and fellow cabaret artist Monika Gruber. That same year, she also wrote and starred in the short film "Familie – Die Quittung kommt zum Schluss", a sharply dark Bavarian comedy about three estranged siblings fighting over an inheritance - and suspecting each other of having killed their father. Monika Gruber was again part of the cast.
In the dark comedy "Weißbier im Blut" (2021), set in rural Bavaria, Kinseher played a waitress named Gerda, who catches the eye of a grumpy local detective (Sigi Zimmerschied) trying to win her heart while solving a case. A few years later, the two reunited for the 2025 feel-good film "Karli & Marie", in which Kinseher played a former beauty queen from Lower Bavaria and Zimmerschied a boastful, army veteran – whose romance unfolds with plenty of bumps along the way.
Most of all, Kinseher has a firm foothold in television cabaret. She was a regular on the BR weekly satire "Nix für ungut," where she played the sharp-tongued secretary Gabi Blümel, and appeared in "Mama Bavaria" (2019–2021), as well as on popular shows such as "Die Anstalt", "Dahoam is Dahoam", "Ottis Schlachthof", and "Intensiv-Station."
Her knack for intelligent, sharply observed satire shines especially in her solo shows, which she has performed on stages since 1998. They include "Ende der Ausbaustrecke – Silent Thrill of Kabarett" (1998), "Glück & Co" (2004), "Hotel Freiheit" (2007), "Mamma Mia Bavaria" (2018), and "MARY FROM BAVARY – Endlich SOLO!" (2025). Kinseher's work is marked by its balance of depth and humor, blending regional identity with universal themes – all delivered with her powerful stage presence and unmistakable voice.
In 2022, she made a celebrated opera debut at the Bavarian State Opera, becoming the first woman ever to play the comic role of Frosch in Johann Strauss' "Die Fledermaus."
Her artistic achievements have earned her numerous awards, including the Passauer Scharfrichterbeil, the German Cabaret Award's Advancement Prize, the Munich Cabaret Prize, the Ernst Hoferichter Prize, the Bavarian Cabaret Prize, the Salzburger Stier, and the prestigious Deutscher Kabarettpreis in 2023.
Luise Kinseher lives and works in Munich.