Adrienne Goehler, born in Lahr in the Black Forest in 1955, studied German and Romance languages and literature in Freiburg. After a DAAD stay in France and a six-month stay in South Africa, Adrienne Goehler moved to Hamburg, where she completed her studies in psychology in 1986.

In addition to her freelance work as a dubbing writer and several years of employment in a therapeutically oriented sexual counseling center, Adrienne Goehler worked for the Green Party in various national and international committees during her studies in Hamburg. After finishing her studies, Adrienne Goehler moved to the Hamburg State Parliament as a member of the GAL women's parliamentary group. There she was responsible for the committees for science and research, culture and women, and worked on numerous lectures and articles on the subject of "Women - Power - Art - Politics" until she was appointed President of the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg in 1989.

1990 co-founder of the Council for Women in Science, Technology and the Arts, she was elected member of the Broadcasting Council of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk in 1992. Re-elected as President of the University of Fine Arts in 1995, Adrienne Goehler went to Berlin after the collapse of the grand coalition as Senator for Science, Research and Culture of the red-green transitional government.

After working as curator of the Capital Cultural Fund, Adrienne Goehler now works as a freelance journalist and curator in Berlin.

Adrienne Goehler is a member of the Advisory Board for Art and Culture of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Feminist Institute belonging to the Heinrich Böll Foundation, a member of the Board of Trustees of the European Academy for Women in Politics and Economics Berlin e.V., a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of International Art and Design Schools, and a member of the Art Advisory Board of the International Women's University Hanover e.V. (ifu).