The daughter of a dairy owner, she graduated from high school in
Blankenburg (Harz). Nickel studied at the
Humboldt University of Berlin Pedagogy and German studies. She completed her studies in 1957 with the state examination. She then gained her first experience in the film business as an assistant director at
DEFA. From 1959, she was also involved in the production of feature films in this capacity. In 1963, she moved to the studio for newsreels and documentaries. She again worked as an assistant director, primarily with
Karl Gass. Two years later, she directed her first own film,
We Understand Each Other. In the following years, she increasingly shot documentaries in the Soviet Union. She was also interested in everyday life in the GDR and captured this in several productions. She worked almost exclusively with cameraman Niko Pawloff. For GDR television, Nickel directed several cinematic portraits, including a film about the director
Konrad Wolf in 1977. She let the people portrayed speak for themselves and largely refrained from commenting. Since 1972 she was a member of the board, since 1977 of the presidium of the
Association of Film and Television Professionals of the GDR. == Filmography (selection) ==