# Harriet Herbig-Matten
**Harriet Herbig-Matten** (born 2003 in Munich) is a German actress who came to professional acting with virtually no stage or film experience and, within a decade, became the lead of one of the most-watched German streaming series, Ruby Bell in Amazon's *[Maxton Hall](https://www.edgepedia.org/maxton-hall-the-world-between-us) - The World Between Us*.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/harriet-herbig-matten_) • [2](https://www.ndr.de/kultur/film/maxton-hall-darstellerin-harriet-herbig-matten-sehr-viele-kitschige-momente%2Charrietherbigmatten-100.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2003, Munich, Germany[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/harriet-herbig-matten_) |
| First screen work | 2015 debut in a family-produced short film for the 99Fire-Films-Award competition on the theme "What I've always wanted to do"[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/harriet-herbig-matten_) |
| First major film role | Carla, the pubescent lead of Leander Haußmann's bestseller adaptation *Das Pubertier - Der Film* (2017)[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/harriet-herbig-matten_) |
| Signature role | Ruby Bell in *Maxton Hall - Die Welt zwischen uns* (Prime Video, 2024-2026)[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/785677/filmo/) |
| Series record | *Maxton Hall* achieved the highest global viewership of a non-American original title in a start week in Prime Video history and reached No. 1 in over 120 countries and territories[4](https://www.ufa.de/app/uploads/2024/06/PM_Drehstart-der-Erfolgsserie-MAXTON-HALL_DIE-WELT-ZWISCHEN-UNS-.pdf) |
| Other leading work | Johanna Lambert in the ARD historical drama *Schwarzes Gold* (2025); the feature film *mama?* (2026)[5](https://www.watson.de/unterhaltung/interview/201232309-maxton-hall-star-harriet-herbig-matten-befreiung-durch-neue-ard-serie) • [6](https://www.lido-agency.com/harriet-herbig-matten.html) |
| Base and representation | Resident in Berlin; represented by LiDo Agency[6](https://www.lido-agency.com/harriet-herbig-matten.html) |
## Beginnings in Munich
Herbig-Matten made her debut in 2015 in a family-produced short film for the 99Fire-Films-Award short film competition, a contest whose theme that year was "What I've always wanted to do".[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/harriet-herbig-matten_) The following year she took part in the casting for Leander Haußmann's film adaptation of the bestseller *Das Pubertier* and was cast immediately in the lead role of the pubescent Carla; the film appeared in cinemas in 2017, alongside Jan Josef Liefers and [Heike Makatsch](https://www.edgepedia.org/heike-makatsch).[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/harriet-herbig-matten_) • [7](https://www.moviepilot.de/people/harriet-herbig-matten) In the same year she played a guest lead role in an episode of the ZDF series *Dr. Klein* directed by Rainer Matsutani.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/harriet-herbig-matten_)
## Bibi & Tina and television work
In 2018 she received the lead role of Tina in the Amazon production *Bibi & Tina - Die Serie*, with Katharina Hirschberg cast as Bibi. The series, developed by the director Detlev Buck, was broadcast in spring 2020. In parallel, Buck cast her in his [Thomas Mann](https://www.edgepedia.org/thomas-mann) adaptation *Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull* (*[Confessions of Felix Krull](https://www.edgepedia.org/confessions-of-felix-krull-2021-film)*) as a teenager from a wealthy home who idolizes the impostor Krull.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/harriet-herbig-matten_)
Herbig-Matten played a leading role in Tomy Wigand's family story *Nie zu spät* (2021, television), as the daughter of Heino Ferch's main character. In the summer of 2021 she filmed a cinema feature with the *Bibi & Tina* team under Buck's direction: *Bibi & Tina - Einfach anders*, the fifth Bibi & Tina feature film, opened in German theaters in July 2022.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/harriet-herbig-matten_) Her later television credits include the Usedom crime film *Schneewittchen* (2022, as Paula Ludwig), *Das Märchen von der Zauberflöte* (2023, as Pamina), and the Apple TV+ series *Where's Wanda?* (2023).[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/785677/filmo/) • [6](https://www.lido-agency.com/harriet-herbig-matten.html)
## Maxton Hall
The breakthrough came with *Maxton Hall - Die Welt zwischen uns* (*Maxton Hall - The World Between Us*), a Prime Video drama adapted from Mona Kasten's novel trilogy that began with *Save Me* (2018).[8](https://www.tvspielfilm.de/serien/maxton-hall-die-welt-zwischen-uns-12512716/) Herbig-Matten plays Ruby Bell, a scholarship student at an elite private school who has subordinated everything to her dream of studying at Oxford, opposite [Damian Hardung](https://www.edgepedia.org/damian-hardung) as the millionaire heir James Beaufort.[8](https://www.tvspielfilm.de/serien/maxton-hall-die-welt-zwischen-uns-12512716/) The first season, which also filmed at Schloss Marienburg near Hannover, reached the highest global viewership of any non-American original title in a start week in Prime Video's history and was No. 1 in the Prime Video charts in over 120 countries and territories.[4](https://www.ufa.de/app/uploads/2024/06/PM_Drehstart-der-Erfolgsserie-MAXTON-HALL_DIE-WELT-ZWISCHEN-UNS-.pdf) • [2](https://www.ndr.de/kultur/film/maxton-hall-darstellerin-harriet-herbig-matten-sehr-viele-kitschige-momente%2Charrietherbigmatten-100.html)
**Working methods on set.** In interviews about the series she has described its deliberately romantic, kitschy look as part of its appeal, saying that "kitsch, or romance, does not necessarily have to be negative".[2](https://www.ndr.de/kultur/film/maxton-hall-darstellerin-harriet-herbig-matten-sehr-viele-kitschige-momente%2Charrietherbigmatten-100.html) Speaking about the show's intimate scenes, she has said the first season was her first experience with such material and that she worked with a coach, describing the process as negotiated and checked in advance; she regards intimacy coaching and a neutral awareness person on set as necessary and notes that this was not established practice at the start of her career.[9](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/maxton-hall-stars-explained-how-filming-sex-scenes-gotten-easier) • [5](https://www.watson.de/unterhaltung/interview/201232309-maxton-hall-star-harriet-herbig-matten-befreiung-durch-neue-ard-serie) A second season premiered in November 2025, with the story following Ruby and James after the death of James's mother, and a third and final season has been announced for December.[10](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/amazon-prime-video/maxton-hall-season-2-episodes-1-3-are-now-on-prime-video-and-theyve-copied-the-summer-i-turned-pretty-in-the-worst-way) • [11](https://www.kinoundco.de/star/1843725-harriet-herbig-matten)
## After Maxton Hall
Herbig-Matten plays Johanna Lambert, a farmer's daughter in the ARD historical miniseries *Schwarzes Gold* (*Black Gold*, 2025), set during an oil boom in the Lüneburg Heath around 1900. She has described the role, which required riding, shooting, fighting, and boxing, as a liberation from the polished image of her *Maxton Hall* character, and as an exercise in playing anger as a woman.[5](https://www.watson.de/unterhaltung/interview/201232309-maxton-hall-star-harriet-herbig-matten-befreiung-durch-neue-ard-serie) She also leads the NDR cinema film *mama?* (directed by Katharina Sporrer, 2026), playing a young mother called Tini.[6](https://www.lido-agency.com/harriet-herbig-matten.html) • [12](https://www.ndr.de/kultur/film/ndr-nordlichter-film-mama-mit-harriet-herbig-matten%2Cnordlichtermama-102.html)
The sudden fame changed her public life markedly. In a 2025 podcast conversation she said the success "makes you grow up very quickly" and that the first season, which required a great deal of emotion, pushed her to her limits; she has also described the pressure to keep a public persona separate from her private self, saying the promoted Harriet with her name is not the Harriet of her private life.[2](https://www.ndr.de/kultur/film/maxton-hall-darstellerin-harriet-herbig-matten-sehr-viele-kitschige-momente%2Charrietherbigmatten-100.html) • [13](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/maxton-hall-season-2-hits-homes-real-life-romance-rumors-swirling-damian-hardung-harriet-herbig-matten)
## References
1. [Harriet Herbig-Matten, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/harriet-herbig-matten_)
2. [Harriet Herbig-Matten über "Maxton Hall": "Jedem tut Kitsch gut", NDR](https://www.ndr.de/kultur/film/maxton-hall-darstellerin-harriet-herbig-matten-sehr-viele-kitschige-momente%2Charrietherbigmatten-100.html)
3. [Filmografie von Harriet Herbig-Matten, FILMSTARTS.de](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/785677/filmo/)
4. [PM Drehstart der Erfolgsserie MAXTON HALL - DIE WELT ZWISCHEN UNS, UFA](https://www.ufa.de/app/uploads/2024/06/PM_Drehstart-der-Erfolgsserie-MAXTON-HALL_DIE-WELT-ZWISCHEN-UNS-.pdf)
5. ["Maxton Hall"-Star Harriet Herbig-Matten: Befreiung durch neue ARD-Serie, watson](https://www.watson.de/unterhaltung/interview/201232309-maxton-hall-star-harriet-herbig-matten-befreiung-durch-neue-ard-serie)
6. [harriet herbig-matten, LiDo Agency](https://www.lido-agency.com/harriet-herbig-matten.html)
7. [Harriet Herbig-Matten, Moviepilot.de](https://www.moviepilot.de/people/harriet-herbig-matten)
8. [Maxton Hall - Die Welt zwischen uns, TV Spielfilm](https://www.tvspielfilm.de/serien/maxton-hall-die-welt-zwischen-uns-12512716/)
9. [Maxton Hall's Stars Explained How Filming Sex Scenes Has Gotten Easier, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/maxton-hall-stars-explained-how-filming-sex-scenes-gotten-easier)
10. [Maxton Hall season 2 episodes 1-3 are now on Prime Video, TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/amazon-prime-video/maxton-hall-season-2-episodes-1-3-are-now-on-prime-video-and-theyve-copied-the-summer-i-turned-pretty-in-the-worst-way)
11. [Harriet Herbig-Matten, kino&co](https://www.kinoundco.de/star/1843725-harriet-herbig-matten)
12. [Kinofilm über Mutterschaft mit Harriet-Herbig Matten: Dreh in Hamburg, NDR](https://www.ndr.de/kultur/film/ndr-nordlichter-film-mama-mit-harriet-herbig-matten%2Cnordlichtermama-102.html)
13. [As Maxton Hall Season 2 Hits Homes, Those Real-Life Romance Rumors Are Swirling (Again), CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/maxton-hall-season-2-hits-homes-real-life-romance-rumors-swirling-damian-hardung-harriet-herbig-matten)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › German actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license