[6] She later attended Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich School of Journalism but dropped out after 3 days in order to start her media career directly.

[1][6] Maischberger started her career at the Bayerischer Rundfunk and has since been working for various television stations including Premiere, RTL, VOX,[1] n-tv,[1] and ARD.

Maischberger has written several books including Hand aufs Herz (an interview with Helmut Schmidt)[7] and Die musst Du kennen — Menschen machen Geschichte, an encyclopaedia of the most prominent scientists, artists and politicians from classical times to the present.

[10] In her talk show, she has also interviewed international guests, including Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis of Greece (2016),[11] Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria (2018)[12] former President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker (2020)[13] and Bill Gates (2021).

The bear designed by Maischberger in homage to the sculptures of Niki de Saint Phalle was auctioned in 2003 at Mercedes World at the Salzufer in Berlin.

In 2008, Maischberger founded an organization called Vincentino, which helps expose underprivileged children to the arts through sponsoring cultural projects in schools.