Before becoming a referee like her father, Steinhaus played as a footballer for SV Bad Lauterberg. Steinhaus became a referee for the club SV Bad Lauterberg and began in the Frauen-Bundesliga after receiving DFB certification in 1999, having taken professional courses since the age of 15. She moved to the Regionalliga in 2001 and was the main referee for the 2003 DFB-Pokal der Frauen Final between 1. FFC Frankfurt and FCR 2001 Duisburg in 2003. Steinhaus began refereeing in the men's 2. Bundesliga in 2007, making her the first female referee in German men's professional football. She was also selected for the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, UEFA Women's Euro 2009, and 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. In 2016, she changed her affiliation to MTV Engelbostel-Schulenburg. Steinhaus was one of the sixteen referees chosen for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, where she officiated two group stage matches and the final between Japan and the United States. Steinhaus was selected to officiate the women's football gold medal match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, also between Japan and the United States. On 12 May 2017, Steinhaus was chosen by UEFA as the referee for the 2017 UEFA Women's Champions League Final, played between Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain in Cardiff. One week later, she was promoted by the DFB to officiate in the top-level Bundesliga, for the 2017–18 season, making her the first female referee in the league's history. Steinhaus officiated her first Bundesliga match, a 1–1 draw between Hertha BSC and Werder Bremen, on 10 September 2017. Hertha, the hosts, offered promotional half-price "Bibiana tickets" to female fans. Steinhaus was named the female referee of the year by DFB in 2018. Steinhaus has been the target of abuse and controversial incidents on several occasions, including a physical confrontation from Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola while serving as the fourth official in a 2014 match, and an accidental groping of her breast by a player in 2010. Fortuna Düsseldorf's Kerem Demirbay was suspended for five matches by his club after making a sexist comment towards Steinhaus, who had sent him off for a second yellow card. IRIB, the state broadcaster of Iran, cancelled their broadcast of a Bundesliga fixture in February 2019 due to Steinhaus being named as its head referee. The television channel had previously broadcast a match officiated by Steinhaus, but cut to crowd shots instead of using the close-up shots of Steinhaus in the normal feed.
