Marianne Elisabeth Koch was born as the daughter of a merchant and a pianist in Munich on August 19, 1931. As a child, she played at the theatre and spent time at the opera school, yet she began to study medicine after her graduation from high school. During a semester break in 1950, she was discovered by director Viktor Tourjansky, who cast her in his film "Der Mann, der zweimal leben wollte". Although she had no formal training as an actor, her natural performance and intuition were very convincing and right away led to more offers: She played a maid in "Dr. Holl", was cast in the literary adaptation "Der Klosterjäger" and took the role of Princess Sophie in the period drama "Ludwig II."

Her final breakthrough as an actress came with "Des Teufels General", and for her portrayal of the brave Diddo Geiss, Marianne Koch was awarded the 1955 German Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. The same year, she also won a "Goldener Bambi" and gave a captivating performance as a blinded war victim in "Zwei blaue Augen". Now a full-fledged movie star, Koch took on leading roles in high-profile productions like the comedy "Salzburger Geschichten" by Kurt Hoffmann, opposite Rudolf Prack in the popular Heimatfilm "Die Landärztin" or as coquettish Rosalinde in the film operetta "Die Fledermaus". That she was equally convincing in dramatic roles, was proven in films like "Die Frau am dunklen Fenster".

In the 1960s, Marianne Koch frequently appeared in European and international co-productions, for instance alongside Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's seminal western "A Fistful of Dollars".

Moreover, Marianne Koch regularly worked in television from the mid-1950s on: She was the female lead in the successful crime miniseries "Tim Frazer" and also the titular star of the series "Die Journalistin". Over the years, the highly popular, multiple-award winning artist was also co-host of several game and talk shows formats.

Despite her numerous engagements, Marianne Koch returned to medical school in 1973 and successfully graduated two years later. From 1985 on, she worked as a physician, published several health guides and appeared as a medical expert on TV and radio shows.

Marianne Koch lives in Tutzing, Bavaria.