Zillessen was born on 17 October 1872 in Rheydt, Mönchengladbach, Germany.

[2] As a young woman she moved to Witten and there she began learning about photography.

She continued her training in Berlin and Düsseldorf where she studied with Erwin Quedenfeldt.

Zillessen eventually turned to landscape photography and she became a successful postcard photographer.

[3] Her copper gravure images were published by Deutschen Heimatbilder and Saxon Heimatschutzverein.