[3] At the age of 20, Cramer married the 37-year-old actor Hermann Nehlsen [de], who pushed her film ambitions.

The marriage failed and the actress entered into a relationship with Claus Biederstaedt, whom she had met in 1956 while filming the literary adaptation Kleines Zelt und große Liebe.

This relationship also failed; in February 1958, the Frankfurter Abendpost reported that the then 21-year-old actress had attempted suicide, which she denied.

Her sole appearance in a US film (barring an uncredited bit part in Dear Brigitte) was a small role in Bedtime Story, which starred Marlon Brando and David Niven.

Susanne Cramer fell ill two years later with Hong Kong flu, which was rampant in the U.S., and died at the age of just 32 in a private clinic — officially due to pneumonia.