Makatsch was born in Düsseldorf, Germany, on August 13 1971 as the daughter of Rainer Makatsch; she spent several months in Mexico in 1988 in an effort to improve her English, and later studied politics and sociology at the University of Düsseldorf for four semesters, which was followed by an apprenticeship as a dressmaker until 1994.
Her TV career started in 1993, when she was hired by music channel VIVA, hosting shows such as Interaktiv and Heikes Hausbesuche; two years later, on August 13 1995, she became the host of the German chart show Bravo TV, aired by RTL II, a position she kept until summer 1996.
Makatsch first appeared in a movie in 1996, when she starred in Detlev Buck's Männerpension (English: "Jailbirds"); she received the Bayerischer Filmpreis for the most talented young actor for her performance, and her reinterpretation of Tammy Wynette's classic Stand By Your Man helped make the movie a nation-wide success. She played in almost 25 productions since then, establishing herself as one of the new generation of actors in Germany.
Selected filmography
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