Bernadette Heerwagen was born in Bonn on June 22 1977. She grew up in Munich, took acting lessons in Los Angeles and also trained as a singer. After appearing in the short "Der Neue" (1992), she made her feature film debut as the titular heroine in Miguel Alexandre"s "Nana", a made-for-TV drama about a terminally ill 16-year-old.

From then on, Heerwagen was cast in numerous TV productions. She won several awards for her performance in "Der Schandfleck", and she also played significant roles in "Hanna – Wo bist Du?" (2001), "Davon stirbt man nicht" (2001) and "Margarete Steiff" (2005). In "Grüße aus Kaschmir", again directed by Miguel Alexandre, she portrayed a young woman whose Pakistani partner drifts into terrorism. For her performance, Heerwagen won a Grimme Award in 2005. She also got rave reviews for her turns in "Der Novembermann" (2007) and "An die Grenze" (2007). Her other works include the British-German co-production "Joy Division" (2006), Margarethe von Trotta"s drama "Ich bin die Andere" and the thriller "Stralsund – Mörderische Verfolgung" (2009).

In 2010, she had a starring role in Lars Kraume"s futuristic thriller "Die kommenden Tage", which depicts a Germany torn apart by economic crisis and terrorism.