Born in 1971, Susann Uplegger was raised in Graal-Müritz near the Baltic Sea, located in what was then East Germany. Aspiring to become an artist already in her school days, she studied visual arts at the conservatory in Rostock and elaborated her painting skills in evening classes. At the age of 16 Uplegger moved to Berlin where she graduated from high school, and where she developed a greater interest in depicting things with her own body than with paint and brush. She subsequently decided to become an actress and enrolled in studies at the Leipzig Drama School, studies which led her to the Conservatory in Liège (Belgium) and to the State Theatre in Dresden, before ending in 1994. As a student she started playing in TV and cinema productions, but preferred to face the challenges presented by stage acting. She played Faust's Gretchen at the theater in Liège, and she was Susanne in a staging of Beaumarchais Le Mariage Du Figaro in its original language. Uplegger played her first major TV role in the13 parts of the comedy series R.O.S.T., co-starring the famous German comedian Dieter Krebs. This was followed by leads in the very successful series Der Fahnder (1994-1998), SK-Babies (1994-1998), and Wilde Engel (2000-2002), which made her known to a broad public in Germany.