Born to Hans Oliva and Eva Maria Hagen, a scriptwriter and an actress, Nina Hagen left school in the 10th grade and joined a cover band. By 1977, Hagen had formed her own band, called the "Nina Hagen Band."

In 1978 The Nina Hagen Band released their self-titled debut album, which included titles like "TV-Glotzer" and "Auf'm Bahnhof Zoo."

According to reviewer Fritz Rumler,
she thrusts herself into the music, aggressively, directly, furiously, roars in the most beautiful opera alto, then, through shrieks and squeals, precipitates into luminous soprano heights, she parodies, satirises, and howls on stage like a dervish¹.

During a subsequent European tour Hagen decided to leave the band, though she was still under contract to produce a second album in 1979. This LP, Unbehagen (which in German also means discomfort or unease), was eventually produced with the band recording their tracks in Berlin and Hagen recording the vocals in Los Angeles. (The headless Nina Hagen Band soon developed a successful independent musical career as Spliff.)

Meanwhile, Hagen's public persona was steadily creating an increasing media uproar, and she became infamous for an appearance on an Austrian talk show called "Club 2," in which she performed an explicit simulation of masturbation.

In 1979 she acted together with Dutch sex, drugs, and rock & roll legend Herman Brood in the movie Cha Cha.
A European tour with a new band in 1980 was cancelled, but in 1982 her first solo album NunSexMonkRock, a dissonant mix of punk, funk and opera, was a minor hit, and led to a world tour with the No Problem Orchestra in 1982.

In 1983 came the album Angstlos and a minor European tour, but interest in Hagen was declining. At this time, Hagen's public appearances were becoming yet stranger, and over the years frequently included discussions of God, UFOs, her social and political beliefs, animal rights and vivisection and claims of alien sightings.

In 1989 Hagen released the album Nina Hagen which was backed up by another German tour. Now living in Paris with her daughter Cosma Shiva, in 1991 she toured Europe in support of her new album Street.

In 1992 Hagen became the host of a TV show on RTLplus. In 1993 she released Revolution Ballroom and two years later the German-language album Freud Euch appeared, recorded in English as Beehappy in 1996.

In 1998, Hagen became the host of a weekly science fiction show on the British Sci-Fi-Channel, in addition to embarking on another tour of Germany. In 1999, she released the album Om Namah Shivay, which was distributed exclusively online.

The album The Return of the Mother was released in February 2001, accompanied by another German tour. In 2000, her song Schön ist die Welt became the official song of the EXPO 2000.

Hagen dubbed the voice of Sally in the German release of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, and she has also done voice work in Hot Dogs by Michael Schoemann.

Hagen has been featured on many songs by other bands. Most recently, she did a cover of Rammstein's Seemann with Apocalyptica.