Barbara Bauer (born 1975 in Passau) is a German actress.

Since the early 2000s, Bauer has appeared in feature films and regularly on television—frequently in productions by Bavarian Television (BR) and ZDF—typically portraying characters with a Southern German, Upper Bavarian, or Austrian background. She has been cast almost exclusively in the archetype of the *Volksschauspielerin* (a traditional folk-style actress). Many of her roles were brief appearances in which she appeared alongside lead characters as a secretary, nurse, saleswoman, receptionist, or other service personnel. Her on-screen co-stars have included, among others, Erol Sander, Jacques Breuer, Ruth Drexel, Franziska Petri, Stephan Zinner, Hans Sigl, Markus Böker, Joseph Hannesschläger, Rudolf Krause, Christian Berkel, Gerd Silberbauer, Luise Bähr, Franziska Schlattner, and Patricia Aulitzky.

In the comedy film *Schwere Jungs* (2006), directed by Marcus H. Rosenmüller, she played a supporting role as Ursel—the wife of the innkeeper, Franzl (Michael A. Grimm). In the feature film *Die Geschichte vom Brandner Kaspar* (2008), directed by Joseph Vilsmaier, she portrayed the man-crazy "Kugler Resl," the mayor's daughter.

In the ARD television series *Agathe kann’s nicht lassen* (2006–2007), she played a recurring supporting role as Miss Buchecker, the secretary to Detective Inspector Krefeld (Maximilian Krückl). In the BR television series *Der Kaiser von Schexing* (2008–2009), she also held a recurring supporting role as Traudl Mair, a municipal clerk. In *Polizeiruf 110: Schuld* (first aired in 2012), she starred alongside Daniel Christensen as Kati—a farmer's daughter and the pregnant fiancée of the accused. In the BR television series *Der Komödienstadel*, she appeared in the Bavarian comedy *Allein unter Kühen* (first aired in March 2013) in the supporting role of Maria Assinger, playing the ex-girlfriend of a mountain farmer alongside Dieter Fischer.

Additionally, she held episodic roles in various television series, including *Der Bergdoktor* (2008; as Karin, a desperate mother), *München 7* (2015; as Lilly Ismeier, the resolute mother of a high school graduate), *SOKO München* (2015; as Carolin Kunze, the leader of a support group for hoarders), and on multiple occasions in the hit ZDF series *Die Rosenheim-Cops*. In January 2018, Bauer appeared in a leading episodic role in *Die Rosenheim-Cops*, playing Regina Bauer—the cousin and sole heir of a murdered market vendor, who is also a suspect in the crime.