Katja Herbers is the daughter of violinist Vera Beths and oboist Werner Herbers. Growing up, she accompanied her mother on tour with the chamber music group L'Archibudelli. She spent time in America, learning to speak Dutch, German, and English.
Her parents remarried, with her mother marrying cellist Anner Bylsma and her father marrying costume designer Leonie Polak, who introduced her to the theater. She had a Canadian au pair and learned to speak multiple languages growing up.
Katja attended the Ignatius Gymnasium in Amsterdam and studied psychology at the University of Amsterdam. During her studies, she attended the local theatre school De Trap and later moved to New York to attend the HB Studio. She then got accepted to the Theaterschool in Amsterdam.
During her studies, she starred in the films Peter Ball and Brush with Fate. After graduation, she became a member of Johan Simons' Theater Company NTGent in Ghent and later joined the renowned Munich Kammerspiele in Germany.
She has worked with directors such as Alex van Warmerdam, Ivo van Hove, and Theu Boermans, and has performed many Schnitzler plays, including his monologue Fräulein Else. She won the Guido de Moor Award for young talent for her portrayal of Irina in Chekhov's Three Sisters.
Katja is also a gifted singer and has performed Im Wunderschönen Monat Mai, a composition inspired by the great Schubert and Schumann songs by Reinbert de Leeuw.
In addition to her work on stage, Katja has continued to film, working with the Oscar-nominated and International Emmy Awarded Director Ben Sombogaart on the Dutch blockbuster feature De storm. She has also worked on the mini-series Beatrix, Oranje onder Vuur and the feature film Süskind.
Katja is known for her portrayal of the emotionally unstable but lovable Joyce in the TV hit series Divorce, as well as her roles in Manhattan, The Americans, The Leftovers, and Manhunt. She has also joined the cast of HBO's Westworld as Grace/Emily.
Katja divides her time between Los Angeles, New York, and Amsterdam.
