Wilhelmine von Hillern

Born in Munich in 1836, Wilhelmine von Hillern was the daughter of the writer and dramatist Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer. She was raised in Berlin and began her own career as an actress, appearing in Gotha before leaving the stage after her marriage to the jurist Hermann von Hillern in 1857.

She later built a successful literary career as a novelist. Reference works and biographical sources describe Die Geier-Wally as her best-known work, and note that it brought her wide recognition; she also adapted the story for the stage. After her husband's death in 1882, she lived mainly in Oberammergau and Tutzing.

Hillern died in 1916. Today she is remembered chiefly for her vivid mountain settings and for helping popularize the German alpine novel.