After ballet and vocal training in the childhood, Franziska Petri attended the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin from 1992 to 1995 as a singer in several bands.

[2] Her first television role was a guest appearance in the Wolffs Revier series in 1993.

To a wider audience she became known in 2000 by the lead role in Vanessa Jopp's film Forget America.

There followed other leading roles, such as 2001 in Joseph Vilsmaier's film Leo and Claire, in 2006 alongside Hanna Schygulla in the ARD TV movie The Unclean Time or in the films The Day I met my Dead Husband, Shadow World and For Miriam.

[3] In 2017 she received the Best Actress award for portraying Sonja in Platonow at the VIFF Vienna Independent Film Festival.