Katharina Derr was born in 1990 and was discovered by director Martin Theo Krieger as the lead for his 2007 youth drama "Beautiful Bitch". The film about a 15-year-old pickpocket form Rumania, who befriends a wealthy girl in Düsseldorf, went on to win several awards at international festivals, and especially Derr's performance garnered rave reviews. In 2009, she was nominated for the New Faces Award and the Förderpreis Deutscher Film.

Following a starring role in the drama "Die Liebe der Kinder", Derr appeared in "Wenn die Welt uns gehört" (2009), Dominik Graf's acclaimed miniseries "Im Angesicht des Verbrechens" (2010) and Doris Dörrie's comedy "Die Friseuse" (2010).