Hannelore Schroth was born January 10, 1922, in Berlin, as the daughter of the actors couple Käte Haack and Heinrich Schroth. She made her movie debut at the age of nine in the comedy "Dann schon lieber Lebertran" ("I"d Rather Have Cod Liver Oil"), directed by Max Ophüls. At the age of 16, Schroth attended drama school. Her first film after attending actor"s training, the love story "Spiel im Sommerwind" ("Play in the Summer Breezes"), already became a big success with movie goers. Schroth then played her first leading role in 1939 in "Kitty und die Weltkonferenz" ("Kitty and the World Conference"). Her most successful films of the 1940s include "Friedrich Schiller", "Sophienlund", and "Unter den Brücken" ("Under the Bridges").

When the war and Nazi dictatorship ended, Schroth successfully continued her movie career with box office hits such as "Taxi Kitty" (1950), "Der Hauptmann von Köpenick" ("The Captain of Koepenick", 1956), "Alle lieben Peter" ("Everybody loves Peter", 1959), or "Polizeirevier Davidswache" ("Hamburg: City of Vice", 1964). From the beginning of the 1960s on, Schroth turned more and more to TV roles and appeared in TV movies such as Wolfgang Becker"s "Kriminalmuseum – Die Kiste" and in TV series like "Tatort", "Derrick" or "Michel aus Lönneberga". She also became a popular voice actor and dubbed Hollywood stars such as Shirley MacLaine or Elizabeth Taylor.

Besides her movie career, Hannelore Schroth regularly performed on stage and was bestowed with the Großer Bad-Hersfeld-Preis in 1969 for her numerous engagements at theatres in Vienna, Berlin, and Munich. In 1980, she was awarded the Filmband in Gold for her achievements in German cinema. Hannelore Schroth died July 7, 1987, in Munich. Her half-brother Carl-Heinz Schroth has also been a successful actor.