Daughter of the well-known Hamburg industrialist Werner Otto, she studied philosophy and politics at Columbia University and acting at Stella Adler Conservatory, graduating in screenwriting and directing from Columbia University in 1993. She has made several documentaries and has also published a book to accompany one of these productions, “Beautopia: The Dark Side of Modeling”. Another book, entitled “Life is Work”, has been published to accompany "Absolute Wilson".

Source: 56. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (catalogue)