Lilja van der Zwaag was born in Berlin and trained at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, graduating in 2021, with additional study at the William Esper Studio in New York (2024). She began her screen career while still a student and has since developed a profile across German film and television. Her notable early work includes a role in the Thalia Theater Hamburg’s production of Hexenjagd (Stefan Pucher) and as part of the ensemble at the Schauspielhaus Hamburg. She was named a Deutschlandstipendium scholar in 2020.

Her screen credits include the Constantin feature film and series Hagen (2022), the ZDF series Herbertstrasse (2024) and the ZDF feature Der Geier (2024). Her most recent work includes a lead role as commissar in the ARD Tatort Dresden (2025, 2026) and the Amazon Prime series The Game of Keys (Barbara Kronenberg/Sinje Köhler, UFA Fiction, 2025). She is about to play one of the ensemble lead roles in a Netflix film (2026).

She is based in Berlin, working fluently in German, English, and French.