Christoph Maria Herbst, born on February 9, 1966, in Wuppertal, made his first TV appearance as an actor in the comedy series "Sketchup – The Next Generation" in 1997. He then played various roles in TV action series like "Der Clown" or "Alarm für Cobra 11" and in TV movies like "Scharf aufs Leben" and "Solange es Männer gibt" (both 2000). In 2002, Herbst made his break-through performance in the TV comedy series "Ladykracher" alongside Anke Engelke. Since then, Herbst, a very versatile actor, was mainly to be seen in comical roles and starred in sidekick roles in successful productions like "(T)Raumschiff Surprise – Periode 1" and "Der Wixxer" (both 2004). With his performances in Helmut Dietl's "Vom Suchen und Finden der Liebe" and in Doris Dörrie's "Der Fischer und seine Frau" ("The Fisherman and his Wife", both 2005), Herbst proved that he is also able to give a poignant touch to his minor roles in more serious films.

From 2004 to 2012, Herbst played the title role in Pro7's comedy series "Stromberg" which won him Bayerischer Filmpreis in 2005 as well as the Grimme Preis in 2006. In 2006 Herbst starred in further comical roles: in "Hui Buh – Das Schlossgespenst", the film version of the radio play classic, in the hospital satire "Die Aufschneider" ("Cutting Edge"), and in the Edgar Wallace crime movie parody "Neues vom Wixxer".

He then played the antagonist in Detlev Buck's children film "Hände weg von Mississippi" ("Hands Off Mississippi") and a man confronted with the conflicted history of his family in the drama "Jakobs Bruder". His television roles include parts in the miniseries "Hilfe! Hochzeit! - Die schlimmste Woche meines Lebens" (2007), the scripted skit show "Tramitz & Friends" (2007), and the feature-length TV comedies "Don Quichote - Gib niemals auf!" (2008) and "Zwei Weihnachtsmänner" (2008). In 2009, he starred in the live-action adaptation of the popular animated TV series "Wickie und die starken Männer" ("Vicky the Viking", 2009), and also returned for the sequel "Wickie auf großer Fahrt" (2011). He went on to play one of the leads in the teen mystery thriller "Das Haus der Krokodile" ("Victor and the Secret of Crocodile Mansion").

He next starred in a string of TV productions, embodying Death itself in Jochen Alexander Freydank's "Und weg bist Du" (2012), playing a Pharao in the sitcom "Götter wie wir" (2012) and reprising his role as peculiar police detective Kreutzer in "Kreutzer kommt…ins Krankenhaus" (2012). He again played a law enforcement officer in Rolf Silber's made-for-TV comedy "Achtung Polizei! Alarm um 11 Uhr 11" (2012).

Herbst then continued his movie career with leading roles in the animated feature "Ritter Rost - Eisenhart & voll verbeult" ("Knight Rusty", 2012), Züli Aladag's comedy "300 Worte Deutsch" (2013) and the puppet romp "Geld her oder Autsch'n!". Following turns in the action film "V8 - Du willst der Beste sein" ("V8 – Start your engines", 2013) and the low-budget comedy "King Ping - Tippen Tappen Tödchen" (2013), Herbst returned to his iconic role as insurance company employee Bernd Stromberg for the feature film "Stromberg – Der Film" (2014).

Later that year, the actor starred in the spy film spoof "Die Mamba" as a dogged CIA agent and in the comedy "Männerhort" as a member of a club of frustrated husbands, playing alongside Elyas M'Barek and Detlev Buck. After playing a bit part in "3 Türken & ein Baby" (2015), Herbst was cast as the tormented demigod Loki for the fantasy film "Mara und der Feuerbringer" ("Mara and the Firebringer", 2015).

The TV comedy "Besser als Du" (2015) had Herbst play a double role; a pedantic family man who switches roles with his happy-go-lucky twin brother to make him save his marriage. The film was widely acclaimed by critics who pointed out Herbst's strong performances personifying the opposed characters in particular.

"Die Kleinen und die Bösen" ("The Small And The Wicked", 2015), an offbeat comedy, had Herbst take to his role like a duck to water when he played a frustrated parole officer determined to mess with the life of a petty criminal who has just been released from jail. The same year, he played a TV executive in the satire "Er ist wieder da" ("Look Who's Back"), a police detective in "V8 – Die Rache der Nitros" ("V8² - Revenge Of The Nitros") and a German banker in the comedy "Highway To Hellas".

In 2016, Herbst joined the cast of "Hotel Heidelberg"; other memorable TV turns followed with "Die Dasslers - Pioniere, Brüder und Rivalen" (2016), the thriller "Kalt ist die Angst" (2016) and "Himmel und Hölle" (2017). On the big screen, Herbst played the eccentric photographer Ärmel in the adaptation of the children's book "Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer" ("Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver").

Also in 2018, he played a good-natured animal keeper in the children's film "Liliane Susewind – Ein tierisches Abenteuer" ("Little Miss Dolittle") and was in the cast of Sönke Wortmann's social comedy "Der Vorname" ("How About Adolf?"). On television, he took the leading role alongside Annette Frier in the comedy series "Merz gegen Merz" (2019-2020), about the ludicrous divorce war of a long-standing married couple.   

At the end of 2020, two films were released in theaters with Herbst: "Jim Knopf und die Wilde 13" ("Jim Button And the Wild 13") and Sönke Wortmann's comedy "Contra", a remake of the French comedy "Le Brio" ("The brilliant Mademoiselle Neïla", 2018). In it, Herbst plays a sexist and racist university professor who, as a sanction for his failures, is supposed to coach a female student with a migration background for a debating competition. He also appeared in front of the camera with Christiane Paul for the comedy "Es ist nur eine Phase, Hase" ("It’s just a phase, Honey Bunny"), about a long-standing married couple with children who hits midlife crises. The theatrical release followed in autumn 2021.   

In the following years, Christoph Maria Herbst continued to be a prominent presence on both television and cinema screens, with films such as "Die Geschichte der Menschheit – leicht gekürzt" (2022), "Das Märchen vom Frosch und der goldenen Kugel" (2022, TV), and "Ein Fest fürs Leben" (2023). He also appeared in more episodes of the comedy series "Merz gegen Merz" (2023-24). In fall 2024, Herbst took on the title role in the family film "Der Buchspazierer" ("The Door-to-Door Bookstore"), and the comedy "Der Spitzname" was released shortly before Christmas 2024.