Birgit Walter, born in Waiblingen, studied acting at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart. Her first engagements took her to Bruchsal and Bremen.
From 1990 onwards, she was a permanent ensemble member at Schauspiel Köln and worked there with directors such as Werner Schroeter, Heinz von Cramer, Günter Krämer, Hans Neuenfels, Antonio Latella, Viktor Bodó, Schorsch Kamerun, Sebastian Baumgarten, Stefan Bachmann, Bastian Kraft, Rafael Sanchez, Pınar Karabulut, Lucia Bihler, and Marie Bues.
Guest engagements in productions by Katie Mitchell and Wim Vanderkeybus also led her to the Salzburger Festspiele, the Staatsoper Berlin, the KVS in Brussels, and the Dance Biennale in Venice. Alongside her acting career, she completed training as an Ashtanga Yoga teacher. She has a son who has been living with his family in Zurich for several years.