Esther Schweins, born April 18, 1970, in Oberhausen, took acting lessons in Karlsruhe and studied for a year at Bochum"s Westfälische Schauspielschule. Schweins then performed sproadically in theatre productions before a producer for the TV network RTL discovered her for the then new comedy show "RTL Samstag Nacht". Virtually over night, the show"s success made Schweins known to a large public. The show"s ensemble also won the 1994 Bavarian film award and, in the following years, Schweins became one the biggest stars of the German comedy scene. During this time, Schweins occasionally starred in film and TV productions such as "Das Superweib" ("The Super-Wife", 1994) or "Küsse niemals deinen Chef" (1996).

After her withdrawal from "RTL Samstag Nacht" in 1998, Schweins started to pursue an acting career beyond comedy formats. She starred in several successful TV productions, that covered a broad spectrum genre-wise. Schweins appeared in the thriller "Drei Tage Angst" (1998), as well as in ambitious dramas such as "Klassentreffen – Mordfall unter Freunden" (2001) or boulevard comedies such as "Auch Engel wollen nur das Eine" ("A Heavenly Gamble", 2002) alongside Thomas Heinze. From 2003 to 2006, Schweins was also seen in eight episodes of the highly praised RTL crime series "Die Cleveren". Furthermore, Schweins hosted the TV magazine shows "Foyer" (2002) and "Theaterlandschaften" (2006/2007) for the ZDF theatre channel and for 3sat, and directed a production of the successful play "Caveman".

In 2006, Schweins returned to the cinema and played a striking supporting part in the relationship drama "Maria an Callas" ("Maria to Callas"), and in 2008, she finally starred in her first leading role on the big screen in the psychological drama "Die Anruferin" ("Die Anruferin") alongside Valerie Koch.