She is known for her roles as Lisa Addison in Resident Evil (2002), Mia in Love Actually (2003), as Liesel's mother in The Book Thief (2013), and as Carlotta Klatt in Where's Wanda?

She spent several months in New Mexico in 1988 in an effort to improve her English, and later studied politics and sociology at the University of Düsseldorf for four semesters, which was followed by an apprenticeship as a dressmaker until 1994.

Makatsch's television career started in 1993, when she was hired by music channel VIVA, hosting shows such as Interaktiv and Heikes Hausbesuche; two years later, on 13 August 1995, she became the host of the German chart show Bravo TV, aired by RTL II, a position she kept until summer 1996.

[4][5] She has three daughters, born in 2007, 2009, and 2015; the first two are with musician Max Martin Schröder, from the German indie band Tomte.

She was nominated in 2006 for an International Emmy Award for Best Actress for her role in Margarete Steiff – A Story of Courage.