During the nineteenth century her grandparents had run their own theatre company based in Merseburg, and which had toured across Germany, Russia, Austria and Switzerland.
[1] Meyer was just 19 when she made her stage debut, playing "Lucy", the daughter of the police chief, in Leopold Jessner's production of The Threepenny Opera at Chemnitz.
[2][3] Returning to the stage in 1945 she became part of the group around Erich Ponto, supporting his efforts to rebuild the "Staatsschauspiel" theatre in Dresden and resume its theatrical traditions.
In 1951, while Brecht was still very much alive, she took the lead as "Pelagea Vlassova" in Die Mutter ("The Mother") in the playwright's own production at the "Deutsches Theater".
She was much loved by comrade thespians, and during the immediate run-up to the changes which heralded the beginnings of a democratic East German state and then, half a year later, reunification, Meyer's apartment was used as a meeting point for many members of the "Dresden ensemble" community.
Her home was also the scene of various round-table-style meetings, discussing art, politics and the methodologies of the theatrical profession, with a focus on how the situation in East Germany might be changed.
Participants included Meyer's own grandchildren and frequently also took place in the presence of her most important friend, the Dresden artist Christoph Wetzel.