Andreas Platthaus was born in Aachen in 1966 and grew up in the Bergisches Land region of Western Germany. After completing a banking apprenticeship, he went on to study business administration at the RWTH Aachen University. He subsequently studied rhetoric, philosophy, and history at the University of Tübingen. Following graduation, he worked as a research assistant on the graduate programme »Representation – Rhetoric – Knowledge« at the University of Frankfurt/Oder. Since 1997, he has been an editor in the features section of the F.A.Z., initially responsible for non-fiction. He later became head of the weekend supplement »Bilder und Zeiten«. From 2002 to 2016, he was deputy head of the Features Section. Since 2016, he has been the editor responsible for literature and literary life.

In 2017, Andreas Platthaus was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Republic. In 2018, he was awarded the Hessian Culture Prize. He is Honorary President of the German Organisation of Non-Commercial Supporters of Loud Donaldism (D.O.N.A.L.D.). In 2019, he spent several months as a fellow at the Thomas Mann House in Pacific Palisades.

His latest book, »Lyonel Feininger: Portrait of a Life« (2021), has been received favourably. His other books include »Auf den Palisaden – Amerikanisches Tagebuch«, written as part of the Thomas Mann Fellowship; »Das geht ins Auge – Geschichten der Karikatur«; and the novel »Freispiel«.