Thando Walbaum was born on September 8, 1985, in Hamburg, Germany. He is the son of musicians Bethina Walbaum and Dumasani Mabaso. His mother is German, while his father is a South African of Zulu descent. He has two older half-brothers in South Africa. He grew up in Hamburg's Schanzenviertel district and still lives there today. He also spends time in South Africa.

Walbaum had his first TV role for Studio Hamburg in 1999 in an episode of the children's series *Die Pfefferkörner*. In the movie *Emil und die Detektive*, he played Hassouna. In 2005, he got his first leading role in the film adaptation of the book *Neger, Neger, Schornsteinfeger!* with Veronica Ferres. He played the role of real-life Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi as a mixed-race teenager in Nazi Germany. The film was nominated for the Golden Camera.