After Matura, she completed a three-year degree at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Graz from 1980 to 1983.
[1] She was then engaged at the Schauspiel Frankfurt, where she played Marianne in Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald and Recha in Nathan der Weise.
[1][2] In 1990, she made a guest appearance at the Luisenburg Festival in Wunsiedel as Vroni in Der Meineidbauer in a production that was also recorded by Bayerisches Fernsehen.
[4] Karina Thayenthal has also appeared in numerous television films, thrillers and series (including Der Landarzt, Tatort, Rosamunde Pilcher).
[1][3] At the end of 2012, she moved with her family to the rainforest in southwest Cameroon and, together with her husband, managed the drinking water project of a Swiss foundation for several years.