Evelyn Hamann was born on August 6, 1942, in Hamburg. After drama school, she made her stage debut at Hamburg's Thalia Theater and took on roles at the German Theater in Göttingen, the Städtische Bühne Heidelberg and the Theater Bremen.

In 1976, Evelyn Hamann started working with the humorist Vicco von Bülow, more commonly known under the pseudonym Loriot, who had developed a new entertainment format for the German radio and television broadcaster Radio Bremen. The show called "Loriot" ran until 1979 and is still considered a milestone in German media history, not least because of the fine interaction between Hamann and von Bülow. Portraying different roles, the two of them used subtle humor to make fun of middle-class rituals.

While the success of this creative partnership helped the reputed stage actress to gain wide popularity, it also led to her being typecast as a comedian. Hamann and von Bülow continued their success with two movies. Both "Ödipussi" (1988) and "Pappa ante Portas" (1991) relied on the well-established mixture of irony and psychological insight to depict the tragicomic hardships of well-meaning members of the educated classes.

From 1990 on, Evelyn Hamann starred in a number of her own TV specials. Furthermore, she was repeatedly cast in prominent guest roles. The crime series "Adelheid und ihre Mörder", starring Evelyn Hamann in a perfectly tailored role, became another big success.

Evelyn Hamann died on October 29, 2007, aged 65.