After attending secondary school in Frankfurt am Main, Wüst took acting lessons from Thessa Klinghammer and at the age of 16 received her first engagement at the StadtTheatre of Colmar, and further stage productions in Bromberg, and in 1904 performed extensively in Leipzig.

[2] Wüst appeared in the four-silent serial installments of Tragedy of Love and The Countess of Paris in 1923, which also featured a young Marlene Dietrich.

Following the war, Wüst's 1946 request for denazification was dismissed because during the Nazi regime, she was accused of denouncing fellow actors such as Eduard von Winterstein.

[2] During the 1950s, she made several films, often appearing as sprightly elderly ladies and comedic matronly types.

During her career, Ida Wüst appeared opposite some of the most notable stars of the German cinema, such as: Heinz Rühmann, Hans Albers, Peter Lorre, Paul Henckels, Käthe Dorsch, Hans Moser, Käthe Haack, Paul Kemp, Theo Lingen and many more.