Schmidt studied at RWTH Aachen University and FernUniversität Hagen before working as a teacher specialising in special needs education and the rehabilitation of children with learning difficulties and behavioural issues.

[2] As deputy leader of the Social Democratic parliamentary group between 1998 and 2001,[3] Schmidt first gained respect in Parliament for her strong defense of pension reforms proposed by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder government in 2000.

[4] After the resignation of incumbent Andrea Fischer, who took the blame for the government's chaotic response to the discovery of ten cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Schmidt became Federal Minister for Health under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in 2001.

During her tenure as Germany's long-serving minister of health, Schmidt oversaw major system reforms, balancing social solidarity with fiscal responsibility.

[8] In July 2009, the Social Democrats' candidate to challenge incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel, Frank Walter Steinmeier, dropped Schmidt from his campaign team for the federal elections, after she embarrassed the party by taking her official Mercedes and chauffeur on a vacation to Spain, where it was stolen and later returned.