[5] Van Houten went to the St. Bonifatiuscollege (high school) in Utrecht, where she played the leading role in Hugo Claus' Tijl Uilenspieghel, directed by Ad Migchielsen.

Van Houten studied briefly at the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts but continued her professional education after one year at the Kleinkunstacademie in Amsterdam.

Black Book's director Paul Verhoeven said about her in a television interview: "Never in my life I have worked with an actress this talented", and when asked to compare her with Sharon Stone he said "Carice can really act.

[13] In April 2009, it was announced that van Houten would star in Black Death by British director Christopher Smith and in the Dutch film Komt een vrouw bij de dokter (English title: Stricken), based on the novel of the same name by Ray Kluun.

[18][19][20] In 2012, van Houten appeared in Antony and the Johnsons' "Cut the world" video, which was directed by Nabil Elderkin[21] and also starred Willem Dafoe and Marina Abramović.

[22] In 2019, van Houten starred as a prison therapist that becomes infatuated with one of her patients, a serial rapist, in Halina Reijn's directorial debut Instinct.

[23] Variety's Guy Lodge described van Houten as being "on electrifying form" and Reijn's direction "provides a fearsome reminder" of the former's breakthrough performance in Black Book.

In 2013, the two published a book called Anti Glamour, a parody style guide and a celebration of their friendship,[33] as well as a candid look into the unglamourous back-stage side of their lives.

[36] She has supported ecocide being made a crime at the International Criminal Court, stating: "We are intrinsically linked to the natural world and its magical ecosystems that have provided for us for so long.

"[37][38] In August 2023, van Houten voiced her support for Operation Identify Me, an initiative launched in May of the same year, which is focused on establishing the identities of 22 unknown females found throughout Western Europe between 1976 and 2019.

[39] In 2024, van Houten participated in a video series published by the Palestine Festival of Literature in support of South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.