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. In 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 "Effi Briest". 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. Köhler also appeared in international productions like Costa Gavras' "Eden à l"Ouest" (F/G/I, 2009) and the Italian-German crime drama "Ein ruhiges Leben", which opened in German cinemas in May 2012.

Also in 2012, Juliane Köhler appeared in the short "Karlstod" and – also being a prolific voice talent for radio plays – provided narration for the documentary "Alexander Granach – Da geht ein Mensch". Moreover, she received the Europe Medal of the Free State Bavaria.

Juliane Köhler next was widely recognized for her performance in Georg Maas' German-Norwegian co-production "Zwei Leben" (2013): In the film, which became Germany's entry at the Academy Awards, she starred opposite Liv Ullmann as Katrine, a mother with biographical links to both the East-German secret police Stasi and the "Lebensborn" breeding project of the Nazis. Her impressive turn in the role garnered Köhler a nomination for Best Female Actor at the 2014 German Film Awards.

Following "Zwei Leben", Köhler had memorable supporting roles in Doris Dörrie's comedy "alles inklusive" (2014) and Sönke Wortmann's adaptation of the bestselling novel "Schoßgebete" (2014). On TV, she starred in the acclaimed drama "Für eine Nacht… und immer?" (2015) and also had a recurring role as police psychologist Lydia Rosenberg in the Cologne branch of the immensely popular "Tatort" series.

After a supporting turn in the Norwegian WWII drama "Kongens nei" ("The King's Choice - Angriff auf Norwegen", 2016), Köhler was the female lead in the tragicomedy "Der Hund begraben" (2016). She went on to play the mother of two troubled daughters in "Back for Good", which screened at the 2017 Berlin IFF. "Der Hund begraben" was released in March 2017.

Köhler had supporting roles in the romance "Auf der anderen Seite ist das Gras viel grüner" (2017) and the road movie "Vielmachglas" ("A Jar full of Life", 2018). She also continued to play the role of police psychologist Lydia Rosenberg in the Cologne epsiodes of the popular "Tatort" TV series. Following the release of "Back for Good" in May 2018, Köhler starred in the comedy "Safari - Match me if you can".

Köhler took on additional film roles in the German-Israeli romantic and culture-clash comedy "Kiss Me Kosher" (2020), playing the mother of the German main character, and was part of the ensemble in Bruno Dumont's drama "France" (FR/IT/DE/BE 2021).  

On television, starting in 2019, she starred as a senior midwife in the dramedy series "Toni, männlich, Hebamme." She also appeared in TV productions like the ensemble drama "Eine harte Tour" (2020) and continued her role as police psychologist Dr. Lydia Rosenberg in the Cologne "Tatort" episodes.  

In 2024, Köhler had a leading role in the six-part family drama "Haus aus Glas" ("House of Glass") and, portraying the mother of a dysfunctional family, appeared in the film "Sonnenplätze" ("Places in the Sun").