Bela B. Felsenheimer was born December 14, 1962, as Dirk Felsenheimer, in Berlin-Spandau. In 1979, he formed his first punk band, "Soilent Grün", named after Richard Fleischer's science fiction film "Soylent Green". In 1982, he formed the punk rock pop band "Die Ärzte" together with "Soilent Grün" member Farin Urlaub and fellow musician "Sahnie". With hit singles like "Teenagerliebe", "Geschwisterliebe", and "Westerland", "Die Ärzte" became one of the most successful pop bands in Germany. Besides his career as a musician, Felsenheimer had also been working as an actor. He made his movie debut in 1981 in Jörg Buttgereit's early short film "Manne The Muvie" which was followed by appearances in several other films by the scandal-fraught art film director, including a part in the drama "Der Todesking" ("The Death King").

In 1985, Felsenheimer played his first leading role as an upcoming musician alongside Farin Urlaub in "Richy Guitar", a music film, based loosely on the success story of "Die Ärzte", that tried to cash in on the band's popularity. In the following years, Felsenheimer appeared in several short films, played minor parts in movies such as "Kaliber Deluxe" ("Bloody Weekend") or "Ein göttlicher Job" ("A Goddamn Job"), and appeared on TV in the crime series "Tatort" or "Alarm für Cobra 11". In 2005/06, Bela B. participated in two prestigious film projects: in the highly praised drama "Edelweißpiraten" ("Edelweiss Pirates") and in Mika Kaurismäki's film "Honey Baby".