Catherine was the younger of two daughters of John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin (1513–1571) from his marriage to Catherine (1518–1574), daughter of Henry II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Due to the marriage, her husband no longer had a legitimate claim on the position of bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Magdeburg[1] and Pope Pius V put in a request to Emperor Maximilian for his dismissal.

She built a dairy in Wedding and sold its produce on the Molkenmarkt ("Milk Market"), a square in Berlin.

She used the proceeds to finance a pharmacy in the Stadtschloss that provided medicine free of charge to those in need.

On 13 October, she was buried in the Hohenzollern crypt (now part of the Berliner Dom).