[1] The daughter of teachers Paul and Annemarie, Manzel grew up in East Berlin.

In 2002, she had the title role in Thomas Schulte-Michels' staging of Jacques Offenbach's operetta La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein at the Deutsches Theater Berlin and also played the lead role in his production of Offenbach's operetta La Périchole 2008 at the Berliner Ensemble.

In autumn 2004, Manzel performed at the Komische Oper Berlin, the female lead in the much-vaunted German premiere of Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd, directed by Christopher Bond.

In 2012, Manzel was awarded the German Film Prize for her supporting role in Christian Schwochow's drama Cracks in the Shell**.

In 2022, Manzel made her directorial debut directing Pippi Langstrumpf, a children's opera based on the Pippi Longstocking books by Astrid Lindgren, composed by Franz Wittenbrink and conducted by Matthew Toogood, performed at the Komische Oper Berlin.