After studying theatre, film and television at the University of Amsterdam, she worked as a production assistant and assistant director before directing a number of television shows. In 2005 she made her first short film Liefs uit de Linnaeusstraat (From Linnaeusstraat With Love) and dedicated it to her colleague, film director Theo van Gogh who was murdered in 2004. She made her cinema debut in 2008 with the children’s film Morrison krijgt een zusje (Morrison Gets a Baby Sister). This was followed by the Dutch box-office-breaking Mees Kees (Mister Twister) feature film trilogy. Her films have won numerous international awards.