Her mother Lydia v. Karganow (1849–1925),[1] who was from Georgia, became mentally ill shortly after her birth and left the family when Knapp was three years old.

Concerned with civic education, she early became influenced by the liberal politician Friedrich Naumann and in 1905, she went on to study economics in Freiburg and Berlin, while becoming a frequent public speaker on political issues.

Elly Heuss-Knapp became an author and also worked in advertising to support her family, developing an early kind of jingle radio commercial.

Her work as a politician concentrated on child care and social policy in general, earning her the reputation of an unofficial "mother of the state".

On 31 January 1950 she publicly announced the foundation of the Müttergenesungswerk organisation for maternal health, which remained under the patronage of the wives of the German presidents up to today.