Aelrun Goette left school after Year 10. She wanted to study psychology but was not admitted to the Abitur. She trained as a nurse, then worked in a psychiatric ward and later as a prison officer. Shortly before German reunification, Goette worked as a model for Sibylle magazine, before catching up on her A-levels from 1990 onwards and studying first philosophy at Humboldt University in Berlin, and later film directing at the Babelsberg Film School.

Her films often deal with people – particularly women – on the margins of society. Her first documentary, Ohne Bewährung – Psychogramm einer Mörderin (Without Probation – Psychogram of a Murderer), for instance, tells the story of a 15-year-old girl who tortured a 13-year-old to death. In her highly acclaimed and award-winning documentary Die Kinder sind tot, she explores the life of a mother who let her two children die of thirst.

Her first feature-length film, Unter dem Eis (Beneath the Ice), also deals with a family tragedy and was awarded the Grimme Prize in 2007. The Tatort – Der glückliche Tod* (The Happy Death), directed by Goette and exploring the theme of euthanasia, was awarded the Hartmannbund Film and Television Prize in 2009. Her other films have received numerous awards. In 2019, the Film University Babelsberg appointed her a honorary professor for the acting, directing and screenwriting/dramaturgy courses.

Her feature In einem Land, das es nicht mehr gibt (Ziegler Film/Tobis, 2022), which focuses on the fashion scene in the GDR and which she also wrote, was nominated for Best Film at the Rome Film Festival, received the Günter-Rohrbach-Film Award for Best Actor, and contributed to Jördis Triebel receiving the Deutscher Filmpreis for Best Supporting Actress in 2023.

Aelrun Goette is currently developing the motion picture Palucca 2.0 (Neue Bioskop Film) and the series Harte Schule.

Goette is a member of the Federal Association of Directors (BVR) and the German Film Academy.

Aelrun Goette has two daughters and lives in Berlin.