Bettina Reitz, born in Frankfurt am Main, studied German language and literature, theater, film, and television studies, and psychology in Frankfurt (master's degree).
From 1985 onwards, Bettina Reitz worked as a freelancer for Hessischer Rundfunk, among others, as an editor, assistant director for fictional films, and as a producer, author, and director of documentaries.
From 1988 to 1990, she was an editor at Hessischer Rundfunk.
In 1990, she moved to ZDF as a television and film editor, where she worked until 1997, most recently as deputy editor-in-chief.
In 1998, Bettina Reitz moved to Munich and took over the development and management of the First Movie Program for the Bavarian Film Center.
In 1999, Bettina Reitz was a founding member of the film and television production company teamWorx GmbH, where she worked as a producer.
In January 2003, Bettina Reitz moved to Bayerischer Rundfunk, succeeding Gabriela Sperl as head of the feature film and series program division. From 2004 to April 2011, she was also a member of the joint editorial team “Vorabend im Ersten” (Early Evening on Channel One). In 2009, she received the Hans Abich Prize for outstanding services to television film. She has been involved in many award-winning series, television films, documentaries, and feature films, including the Oscar®-winning films “The Lives of Others,” “Amour,” and “Citizenfour,” as well as the multi-award-winning series and feature film “Turkish for Beginners.”
Bettina Reitz has received numerous nominations and awards throughout her career.
From May 2011 to May 2012, Reitz took over the management of Degeto Film GmbH. From June 2012 to September 2015, she was television director at Bayerischer Rundfunk.
For many years, Bettina Reitz was a regular guest lecturer at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg and the HFF Munich. She has been an honorary professor at the HFF Munich since November 2012. In June 2015, she was elected president of the HFF Munich by the university council, and her appointment by Minister of State Dr. Ludwig Spaenle took place in September 2015, before Bettina Reitz took office as the first full-time president of the HFF Munich on October 1, 2015. In February 2019, she was unanimously confirmed by the University Council of the HFF Munich for a second term of six years, which began in the winter semester 19/20 and ended on September 30, 2025.
She is also a member of the German and European Film Academies and, since March 2016, Vice President of the German Academy of Performing Arts. From 2016 to 2020, she was a member of the Goethe Institute. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of TUM and the Deutsches Museum. Since December 2020, she has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Young German Film Foundation. Reitz has held various supervisory board positions, including for Telepool, FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Studio Hamburg GmbH, and currently on the board of Leonine Holding GmbH. She is also regularly appointed to important film and media juries, such as the Bavarian Film and Television Award, the Bernd Eichinger Award, the Culture Award of the City of Munich, the Bernd Burgemeister Award, and many more.
In 2016, Bettina Reitz was awarded the State Medal for special services to the Bavarian economy. In 2022, she received the Ellen Ammann Prize from the Catholic German Women's Association of Bavaria for the development and concept of the first comprehensive equality program at a film school, which honors the commitment to equality and equal opportunities for women in the church, politics, society, and business. Since 2022, Bettina Reitz has been a recipient of the Bavarian Order of Merit. In July 2025, she received the PRO MERITIS SCIENTIAE ET LITTERARUM award from State Minister Markus Blume on behalf of the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts.