Born in Speyer, she took up piano lessons at the age of 8. After 1986 she studied with the concert pianist Werner Schmitt, and after 1988 she pursued vocal training with Ming-ju Chang in Musikschule Ludwigshafen. In this period she gained prizes four times at the competition Jugend musiziert and received a special award for the best interpretation of the contemporary song. In 1992, she made her debut in Mainz at a concert with orchestra. In 1994, she began to study with Rudolf Piernay at Musikhochschule Mannheim. She also took part in courses run by prominent artists, such as Renato Capecchi, Robin Bowman, Cornelius Reid, Julia Hamari, Brigitte Fassbaender, Daniel Ferro, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
She received the Kunstförderpreis Award for her opera debut in Opernschule Mannheim in the part of Nancy in Albert Herring by Benjamin Britten (1995), the first prize in the chamber music competition and Mozart competition in Würzburg (1996), and the second prize at the international competition Schubert und die Musik des 20. Jahrhunderts in Graz (1997). She was also awarded at the international competition Neue-Stimmen-Wettbewerb in Gütersloh. During the international opera project European Opera Center, she played the part of Cecilia in Mozart’s Lucio Silla conducted by Brigitte Fassbaender (1998). She gained first prizes too in the competition Robert-Saar-Gesangswettbewerb in Bad Kissingen, in the renowned competition Belvedere-Wettbewerb in Vienna, and in the ARD musical competition in Munich (1998). In the same year, she became a recipient of the grant of Richard-Wagner-Verband.