[4] Later she starred in films and TV series such as Die Schwarzwaldklinik (The Black Forest Clinic).

Elsner is remembered for the title role, Inspector Lea Sommer, in the German detective series Die Kommissarin which aired on public television in 66 episodes from 1994 to 2006.

[2] Elsner's last completed film was Cherry Blossoms and Demons [de] by Doris Dörrie; Dörrie said that Elsner was a great adventurer who threw herself into every role and her life with curiosity, dedication and bravery ("Für mich war Hannelore Elsner eine große Abenteuerin, die sich mit Neugier, Hingabe und Tapferkeit in jede Rolle und in ihr Leben gestürzt hat".

She wrote her memoirs in 2011, titled Im Überschwang: Aus meinem Leben (In Exuberance: From My Life),[4] which describe in detail how she grew up in Bavarian provincial surroundings and recount tragic episodes from her childhood.

[6] Elsner was married three times: to the actor Gerd Vespermann from 1964 to 1966, to the director Alf Brustellin from the 1970s until his death in 1981, and to Uwe B. Carstensen from 1993 until their divorce in 2000.

[4] The broadcaster BR changed their programming in her honour, to show films that she had appeared in as well as an interview.