At ten, she played
Cosette in a radio adaptation of
Les Misérables, where her father played Jean Valjean. She sang in 1956 with
André Claveau,
Viens danser avec papa. On the advice of her father, she stopped school to learn comedy. She took lessons with Raymond Girard and
Jacques Charon, and began her career on stage to the
Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens with Cactus Flower, alongside
Jean Poiret and
Sophie Desmarets. She joined the
French National Academy of Dramatic Arts in the classes of
Jean Marchat then
Lise Delamare, and also attended classes of Jean-Laurent Cochet. She joined the
Comédie-Française in 1969. She worked with directors as varied as
Philippe Adrien,
Patrice Chéreau,
Dario Fo,
Jorge Lavelli,
Jean-Paul Roussillon, in the classical and contemporary repertoire. She became Dean of the troupe after the death of Christine Fersen in 2008. Catherine Hiegel is also a professor to the
CNSAD for thirteen years. She have won 2
Molière Award on 9 nominations. ==Theater==