Serpil Şimşek Bierschwale was born in Istanbul and graduated from high school there in 1969. In 1971, she began acting training in Paris at the École Internationale de Mimodrame. In Paris, she worked at the Mehmet Ulusoy-Théatre de Liberté and the Théatre de Gerard Philippe de Saint-Dénis. In 1979 she came to Berlin and trained at the Fritz Kirschhoff Acting School. Here she worked as an actress at the Grips Theater in Berlin as well as at the Schaubühne, with Peter Stein among others, and as an assistant director and dramaturge. After a long absence, she appeared on stage again in Pauschalreise – Die 1. Generation at Ballhaus Naunynstraße.