She worked with several major European directors including Michael Haneke, Tom Tykwer and Jessica Hausner.

She made her cinema debut in 2000 as Barbara Brecht in Jan Schütte's Abschied, playing alongside Josef Bierbichler and Monica Bleibtreu.

A year later, Minichmayr played the fool in Luc Bondy's acclaimed staging of Shakespeare's King Lear, always at the Burgtheater.

Among the directors she worked with were István Szabó, Götz Spielmann, Tom Tykwer, Oliver Hirschbiegel, Robert Dornhelm, and Doris Dörrie.

At the 59th Berlin International Film Festival 2009 Minichmayr was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Actress for her performance in Maren Ade's Alle Anderen (Everyone Else).