Nicola Graef studied German philology, theatre studies, and philosophy in Munich. She then continued her studies in London and worked as a freelance author and journalist for the London studios of ZDF and NDR after her graduation. Graef then completed a traineeship at NDR in Hamburg and worked as an editor for several NDR TV shows.

Together with Susanne Brand, she set up the production company "Lona Media" and produced and partly directed several ambitious documentary films and commentaries for several TV networks. "Lona Media" for instance produced films for the highly praised TV formats "37 Grad" and "Menschen hautnah". Furthermore, Graef was the owner of the Hamburg-based art gallery "plan b" until 2008. From 2003 to 2006 she hosted the WDR talk show "Westart am Sonntag". In 2008, Graef finished "Ich. Immendorff", her first documentary film for the big screen.

In the subsequent years, the journalist returned to making TV documentaries like "Girls, girls, girls – Die Geschichte der Frauenbands" (2011) and the investigative and much noticed "Kampf im Klassenzimmer" (2010) and "Tod einer Richterin – Kirsten Heisig" (2011).

Early 2017 saw her second theatrical release: "Neo Rauch – Gefährten und Begleiter" is a well-informed portrait of one of the most important contemporary German artists.