Valerie Niehaus moved to Munich with her family in 1987, where she was discovered for the television miniseries "Rote Erde". In March 1990, she appeared as Gerda in the episode "Heil Hitler" oder "Glueck" auf. On the day she received her high school diploma, she was offered a contract for the soap opera "Verbotene Liebe", where she played the role of Julia von Anstetten for two years and 408 episodes. In 1995 and 1996, she was awarded the bronze Bravo Otto-Prize in the category "TV Star Female" during her time on the soap opera. She also played the female lead role of Christabel Lowyer in the romantic film "Rosamunde Pilcher: Stunden der Entscheidung" (first broadcast: March 1997). After leaving "Verbotene Liebe", Valerie studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York City from 1996 to 1998. In 2000, she returned to Germany from New York.