Nicolette Krebitz was born and brought up in West Berlin She studied classical dance at Berlins Ballett Centrum and obtained her acting diploma at the Fritz Kirchhoff Drama School in 1992 She has appeared in front of the camera in cinema and TV productions since 1982 In 1999 she realised her own film JEANS and has since then been working alternately as a director and actress In 2019 she was awarded the Berlin Art Prize from the Academy of Arts in the Film and Media Art category