Barbara Yelin was born in Munich in 1977. She studied Illustration at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg. As a comic artist, she first came to notice with her comic books 'Le visiteur' and 'Le retard', that were published by Éditions de l'An 2/Actes Sud. In Germany, several of her short stories have appeared in the Spring anthology.
Together with writer Peer Meter, Yelin made 'Gift', a graphic novel about the historical case of Gesche Gottfried from Bremen, who killed fifteen people with poison. It was first released by Reprodukt in 2010. Her next graphic novel, 2015's 'Irmina', was also based on a true story and deals with the decision between personal freedom and the desire for social advancement during the days of national-socialism.