Emma Bading grew up in Berlin. Her parents are actors Thomas Bading and Claudia Geisler-Bading. As a teenager, she rose to fame in 2015 in the German crime series TATORT. This was followed by other television series and, since 2017, cinema productions. For the film "Play", she received a television award for best actress in 2019 and a television award for best up-and-coming actress in 2020. At the 2024 International "Hofer" Film Days, she received the jury's short film award as director of "Shut up and suffer." Her younger sister Bella Bading is also an actress who came out as bisexual in February 2021.