Makatsch was born in Düsseldorf, Germany, the daughter of former German national ice hockey team goaltender Rainer Makatsch. She spent several months in New Mexico in 1988 in an effort to improve her English, and later studied politics and sociology at the University of Düsseldorf for four semesters, which was followed by an apprenticeship as a dressmaker until 1994. Her television career started in 1993, when she was hired by music channel VIVA, hosting shows such as Interaktiv and Heikes Hausbesuche; two years later, on August 13 1995, she became the host of the German chart show BRAVO TV, aired by RTL II, a position she kept until summer 1996. In 1997 she started hosting her own weekly, late night show titled Heike Makatsch Show. However, due to bad ratings, it was cancelled after only eight episodes. Makatsch first appeared in a movie in 1996, when she starred in Detlev Buck's Männerpension (English: "Jailbirds"); she received the Bavarian Film Award as most talented young actor for her performance. Since then, she has appeared in several German and English language productions.

Filmography

• 2027Komplizinnen - Vernunft ist keine Lösung
• 2025Akiko, the Flying Monkey — Police Chief
• 2025Bibi Blocksberg - Das große Hexentreffen — Servera
• 2024Slava der Hund — Laura
• Where's Wanda? — Carlotta Klatt
• German Genius — Heike Makatsch
• INTIMATE. — Alice
• Slava, der Hund — Laura
• Tender Hearts — Anja
• Der König von Palma — Sylie Alder
• Herzogpark — Maria Schreiber
• 2021Zero — Cynthia Bonsant
• 20209 Days Awake — Liane Stehfest
• 2020God, You’re Such a Prick — Eva Pape
• Kurzstrecke mit Pierre M. Krause
• 2019Benjamin the Elephant — Zora Zack
• 2019I've Never Been to New York — Lisa Wartberg
• 2019Manhunt: Bloody Tango — Gisela Tezloff
• 2018The Most Beautiful Girl in the World — Frau Reimann
• 2017Strange Daughter — Hannah
• 2017Teenosaurus Rex — Sara Wenger
• 2016Speechless — mother
• 2016The Pasta Detectives 3 — Kellnerin
• 2016Twice New Life — Ännie Borchert
• 2015About a Girl — Sabine
• Paare — Patientin
• 2014Everything is Love — Clara
• 2014Wir machen durch bis morgen früh — Melanie Struttmann
• 2013Back on Track — Birgit Averhoff
• Neo Magazin Royale — Guest
• 2013The Book Thief — Liesel's Mother
• 2012Homecoming — Katarina Endriss
• 2012Sechzehneichen — Laura Eichhorn
• 2012The Adventures of Huck Finn — Tante Polly
• 2011Tom Sawyer — Tante Polly
• 2009Dr. Hope — Hope Bridges Adams
• 2009Hilde — Hildegard Knef
• 2009The Door — Gia
• 2008Schade um das schöne Geld — Mirabel Blinker
• 2007Mrs. Ratcliffe's Revolution — Frau Unger
• 2007Schwesterherz — Anna, Screenplay
• 2006Hui Buh: The Castle Ghost — Leonora Gräfin zu Etepetete
• 2005A Sound of Thunder — Alicia Wallenbeck
• 2005Almost Heaven - Ein Cowgirl auf Jamaika — Helen Schuster
• 2005Margarete Steiff — Margarete Steiff
• 2005No Songs of Love — Ellen
• 2005Tara Road — Bernadette
• 2004Familie auf Bestellung — Eva
• 2003Anatomy 2 — Viktoria
• 2003Das Wunder von Lengede — Renate Reger
• 2003Love Actually — Mia
• The Miracle of Lengede — Renate Reger
• Die Affäre Semmeling — Silke Semmeling
• 2002Nachts im Park — Katharina Lumis
• 2002Naked — Emilia
• 2002Resident Evil — Lisa
• 2001A Goddamn Job — Katinka Sirena
• 2001Late Night Shopping — Madeline
• 2000Gripsholm — Prinzessin
• 2000Longitude — Queen Charlotte
• Longitude — Queen Charlotte
• 2000The Announcement — Rumour
• 1999Aimée & Jaguar — Klärchen
• 1999Das Gelbe vom Ei — Floris Blinker
• 1999Männer und andere Katastrophen — Judith Kern
• 1999Tails You Win, Heads You Lose — Maja
• 1998Am I Beautiful? — Vera
• 1998Love Your Female Neighbor! — Isolde
• 1997Obsession — Miriam Auerbach
• Interaktiv — Host
• 1996Männerpension — Maren Krummsieg
• Scene of the Crime — Ellen Berlinger

Appearances as themselves (36)

• Wer stiehlt mir die Show? — Self
• Hätten Sie’s gewusst — Self
• 2019Kroos — Self
• Late Night Berlin — Self
• Abendshow — Self
• Wer weiß denn sowas? — Self
• Klein gegen Groß - Das unglaubliche Duell — Self
• Inas Nacht — Self
• Thadeusz — self
• Gero von Boehm begegnet... — Self
• Through the Night with... — Self
• V.I.P. — Self
• Beckmann — Self
• TV total — Self
• The Johannes B. Kerner Show — Self
• Leute heute — Self
• Taff — self
• Tietjen und Bommes — Self
• Zimmer frei! — Self
• Die Harald Schmidt Show — Self
• Kulturzeit — self
• Bravo Super Show – Die Gold-Otto-Verleihung — Self - Host
• alfredissimo! Kochen mit Bio — Self
• Boulevard Bio — Self
• DAS! — Self
• Blauer Panther — Self
• Goldene Kamera — Self
• Telestar — Self
• Menschen — Self
• Wetten, dass..? — Self
• Bavarian Film Awards — Self
• NDR Talk Show — Self
• Kölner Treff — Self
• 3 nach 9 — Self
• German Film Award — Self
• Bambi — Self