Jeanette Hain was born in Munich on February 18, 1969. Growing up in Munich, she initially enrolled in the director's class of the HFF München in 1993, but was eventually discovered as an actress by director Sherry Horman who cast her as the female lead in the made-for-TV film "Die Cellistin" (1998). This was quickly followed by roles in the gangster movie "Das Trio" ("The Trio") (1998) and the comedy "Frau Rettich, die Czerny und ich" ("Mrs. Rettich, Czerny and Me") (1998).

After parts in "Requiem für eine romantische Frau" ("Requiem for a Romantic Woman") and the TV miniseries "Sturmzeit", Hain played the wife of Bertold Brecht in "Abschied – Brechts letzter Sommer" ("The Farewell") (2000). She next appeared in the period piece "Sass" (2000), the drama "Die Reise nach Kafiristan" ("The Journey To Kafiristan") (2001) and the children's film "Bibi Blocksberg" (2002). In addition to her screen career, she frequently lent her voice to audio books and book readings.

Hain also enjoys continuous success on TV: She had guest roles in several popular programs and also starred in feature-length TV productions like "Die Frau des Architekten" (2003), for which she was awarded the "Golden Nymph" at the Monte Carlo Television Festival. Hain also was one of the leads of the TV series "Bis in die Spitzen" (2005), and later was a regular cast member of the program "Komissar Süden". Her performance in the episode "Komissar Süden und der Luftgitarrist" – which was directed by Dominik Graf – won her a Grimme Award.

After supporting roles in international co-productions like "Der Vorleser" ("The Reader") (2008), "Young Victoria", "Schweitzer" and "Die Gräfin", Hain starred opposite Ulrich Tukur in the two-part TV drama "Gier" (2009). In 2011, she returned to the big screen with roles in the period drama "Poll" ("The Poll Diaries") and the science-fiction film "Transfer". After playing a police psychologist in two entries of the acclaimed "Dreileben" trilogy ("Etwas Besseres als den Tod" / "Beats Being Dead" and "Komm' mir nicht nach" / "Don′t Follow Me Around"), she was seen in "Der Fall Wilhelm Reich" (AT, 2012), "An Enemy To Die For" (2013) "The Forbidden Girl" (2013) and "Lauf, Junge, Lauf" ("Run, Boy, Run!") (2013)

In 2014, Jeanette Hain starred in the ensemble tragicomedy "Lügen und andere Wahrheiten", which premiered at the Munich Film Festival, and the environmentalist science-fiction thriller "Die innere Zone".