Padberg was born in Bad Frankenhausen on 27 January 1980 and grew up in Rottleben, which were both part of East Germany until German reunification, which occurred between November 1989 and March 1991.

Eva worked in Paris, Tokyo, and New York City, e.g. for Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein and walked for different Prêt-à-Porter shows.

In May 2005, she appeared in the TV commercial of the candy brand "Gletscher Eis" and in September of the same year she became not only the new face of the Korean automobile manufacturer Kia Motors, but also the new cover top-model of the mail order company Otto and campaign model for Nintendo's Nintendogs.

In 2005, she started acting and had minor roles in her debut Maria an Callas [de] (2006) and the film adaptation of the video game In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007).

She also worked in the jury of Germany's Star Search and, in 2006, as a presenter for the Bambi award of Hubert Burda Media together with talk show host Harald Schmidt.