Regine Zimmermann was born in Grünstadt/Pfalz. She attended the Otto Falckenberg Schule in Munich and was engaged at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin from 1997. Here she played the title role in Effi Briest, Mieze in Berlin Alexanderplatz alongside Ben Becker and Jenna in Lars Norén's Dämonen. In 2000 she was nominated for the Ulrich Wildgruber Prize. She played Alice in Patrick Marber's Hautnah (Closer). She worked regularly with Michael Thalheimer at the Deutsches Theater, where she was a member of the ensemble until 2009. In Emilia Galotti she created the title heroine, in Goethe's Faust. Der Tragödie erster Teil she plays Gretchen and Sorge in Faust. Der Tragödie zweiter Teil. In Gerhart Hauptmann's Die Ratten (invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen 2008, together with Einar Schleef's Gertrud) she can be seen as Pauline Piperkarcka. She has repeatedly worked with Nicolas Stemann and Armin Petras. In the 2013/14 season, she was permanently engaged at the Schaubühne Berlin.

Zimmermann's film and television work includes Caroline Link's film Nowhere in Africa, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2003, and Gegen Morgen (directed by Joachim Schönfeld). Most recently, she played the role of Marlene Dietrich in Erik Schmitt's film Cleo.

Regine Zimmermann has been a member of the ensemble at the Deutsches Theater Berlin again since the 2017/18 season.