Klara Manzel was born in Dresden on September 20th 1983. The daughter of actress Dagmar Manzel studied at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen (HFF) in Potsdam, and made her screen debut in a supporting role in Henner Winckler's 2006 film "Lucy". After graduating in 2008 she performed at the Hans-Otto-Theater in Potsdam, at the Sophiensaele and the Deutsche Theater in Berlin, and became an ensemble member at the Schauspielhaus Zurich. In addition to this, she also worked as a voice talent for audio books.

Manzel had supporting roles in Kaspar Heidelbach's "Berlin 36", Sven Taddicken's adventure romp "Zwölf Meter ohne Kopf" ("12 Paces Without a Head") and Andreas Kleinert's drama "Barriere" ("Boundaries"), which premiered at the 2010 Berlin IFF. This was followed by her first leading role in Bartosz Werner's "Unkraut im Paradies".