Daughter of the zoologist/naturalist Professor Wilhelm Stader. A prominent stage actress, she made her debut at the Viennese Burgtheater in 1898 despite having had no prior acting training or experience. Körner became a celebrated tragedienne of German theatre in the 1910's, noted for her performances in plays by Ibsen, Shaw and Hauptmann. In the 1920's, she turned to teaching drama, directing for the stage and holding the stewardship at several important theatrical venues in Munich and Dresden. She appeared only rarely in films.