Inge Borde was born in Berlin and trained as a musician. A violinist and music teacher, she discovered puppet theater in 1945 and became one of the first members of the German section of the UNIMA ( International Union of Puppetry). Living in the German Democratic Republic, she became one of the main authors for this theater and took part in the foundation of the Puppentheater Berlin (Berlin Puppet Theater). She also wrote theoretical works on puppetry and received several awards. She was the wife of the East German writer Eduard Klein.