Sven Regener was born in Bremen on January 1, 1961. As a child, he already took extensive lessons in classical and electric guitar, trumpet and piano. In 1982, he recorded his first album as member of the band Zatopek. As a student of musicology, he quit university before graduation in order to pursue his music career. In 1985 he founded the band "Element of Crime", becoming the main lyricist and singer, as well as playing guitar and trumpet. The band took its name from the eponymous film by Lars von Trier. Over the years, "Element of Crime" released more than 15 studio and live albums, some of which enjoyed significant chart success.

In 2001, Regener published his first novel "Herr Lehmann", which describes the months before the eventual fall of the Berlin wall from the viewpoint of a bartender living in the Kreuzberg district. With over one million copies sold, the book turned out to be a bestseller. Regener himself wrote the screenplay for Leander Haußmann's adaptation, and subsequently won the German Film Award as well as the Deutsche Drehbuchpreis.

2004 saw the publication of his second novel "Neue Vahr Süd", a prequel to "Herr Lehmann" which depicts the protagonist's life during his mandatory military service. Four years later, the "Lehmann-Trilogy" was completed with the final book "Der kleine Bruder", which provides the narrative link between the previous books. The successful TV adaptation of "Neue Vahr Süd" was directed by Hermine Huntgeburth and aired in 2010. In 2011, Regener published "Meine Jahre mit Hamburg-Heiner", a collection of writings from his internet blog. Over the years, Regener and "Element of Crime" have also provided original music for several films, including "Robert Zimmermann wundert sich über die Liebe" (2008) and "Whores' Glory" (2011).

As a musician and composer, Regener has been an outspoken supporter of copyright laws and has argued against the infringement of publishing rights by platforms like youtube and in the digital realm in general.

In 2012, Regener and Leander Haußmann co-directed the comedy "Hai-Alarm am Müggelsee", which was released in March 2013. Also in 2013, Regener published the novel "Magical Mystery oder: Die Rückkehr des Karl Schmidt"; in 2015, he co-authored the book "Ärger mit der Unsterblichkeit" together with Andreas Dorau. It consists of biographical stories taken from Dorau's life.

In 2016, principal photography of "Magical Mystery oder: Die Rückkehr des Karl Schmidt" began, directed by Arne Feldhusen, for which Regener adapted the screenplay. The film premiered at Filmfest München, June 2017. Regener's other publications include the novels "Wiener Straße" (2017) and "Glitterschnitter" (2021) and the essay "Zwischen Depression und Witzelsucht. Humour in literature" (2024).

Sven Regener's numerous honours include the Carl Zuckmayer Medal and the German Music Authors' Prize (both 2016), the Jonathan Swift Prize and the Sondermann Prize for Comic Art (both 2022) as well as the Paul Lincke Ring (2024) for special achievements in German-language light music. He was also awarded the six-year Brüder Grimm Professorship at the Gesamthochschule Kassel in 2016.