She gained recognition from her participation in the 1982 exhibition Kniven på hovedet (Knife on the Head) held at Tranegården in Gentofte.
She attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts under Hein Heinsen, Stig Brøgger, Helge Bertram and Torben Christensen, completing her studies in 1990.
She played a central role in the Wild Youth trend which reached Denmark in 1982 with the Kniven på hovedet exhibition at Tranegården which had been inspired by German artists.
[3][1] Over the years, Heggenhougen-Jensen's use of painting, installations, photography and video has evolved in phases but she characteristically dismantles conventional approaches playing with words, materials and historical references.
[4] In Schlager, she uses some of the same elements: photographs of nude women, gramophone records, a rocking chair and boots resembling those of van Gogh.