Actress Elisabeth Endriss (now Wicki-Endriss) was born in Eger (now Czech Republic) in 1944 and attended the Otto Falckenberg drama school in Munich. She mainly worked at the theatre but also appeared in several film and TV productions. In 1977, she met the actor, photographer, and director Bernhard Wicki and starred in his films "Sansibar oder der letzte Grund" and "Das Spinnennetz" ("Spider"s Web"), among others. In 1995, she married Wicki.

After Wicki"s death in 1995, Endriss founded the Bernhard Wicki memorial fund that awards the " Bernhard Wicki Filmpreis – Die Brücke – Friedenspreis des Deutschen Films". Honorary members of the fund include Maximilian Schell, Klaus Maria Brandauer, and Ulrich Mühe, among others. Endriss also provided for the exhibition of Wicki"s photographic works. In 2007, Elisabeth Endriss-Wicki, completed the filmic biography of her late husband "Verstörung und eine Art von Poesie".