Ute Wieland, born April 8th, 1957 in Großbottwar, graduated in German Literature and theatre studies before attending the director's class at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film (HFF) in Munich. Her first movie "Im Jahr der Schildkröte" ("Year of the Turtle") was already nominated for a Bundesfilmpreis. During the 1990s, Wieland directed an episode of the TV series "Polizeiruf 110" and several TV movies like "Eiskalte Freunde" or "Italiener und andere Süßigkeiten".

With "FC Venus" ("FC Venus - Women with Balls", 2006), a football comedy starring Nora Tschirner and Christian Ulmen, Wieland returned to the cinema. In 2008 her next feature film "Freche Mädchen" ("Cheeky Girls") opened at cinemas, with a screenplay written by Maggie Peren after the successful books "Freche Mädchen - Freche Bücher". After directing an episode of "Tatort", Wieland helmed "Freche Mädchen 2" ("Cheeky Girls 2", 2010), the sequel to her box office hit from 2008.

She next directed the two-part TV movie "Deckname Luna" (2012) about the toils of a woman from East-Germany who is prosecuted by the secret police and escapes to the West, only to find that she is still not safe. The film got very positive reviews and a nomination for the Grimme Award.

2014 saw the theatrical release of Wieland's tragicomedy "Besser als nix", in which a high school dropout tries to get his life back on track.