Elsa Tauser (née Martens) was born in the German city of Hamburg on 10 July 1896. The youngest of 14 siblings in a poor family, she was forced to begin working at a young age to support her large family. Her first job involved her polishing gold and silver cutlery at high-end downtown hotels. Later on in life, she became a saleswoman and shop owner in the city of Hanseatic, where she sold luxury goods.

In 1916, in the midst of the first World War, Elsa Tauser married for the first time, leading to the birth of her daughter in 1923. This first marriage would end in a divorce. In 1935, she would marry for the second time to Konrad Tauser, a sailor. Not wanting to leave his wife and family alone for months at a time, Konrad left his seafaring job and began working as a janitor in the city.

Beginning in the 1970s, Mrs. Tauser and her husband lived in Lurup, Hamburg. Following the death of her husband in 1989, she continued to live alone into her centenarian years; at the age of 105, she was reported to still be fully independent and managed her everyday life without assistance, which included her cooking and shopping on her own. She continued to live at home until the age of 107, when she moved into a nursing facility. At the age of 108, she credited her long life to singing and enjoying music.

On 5 October 2007, following the death of Irmgard von Stephani, she became the oldest living person in Germany. This reign would be short-lived, however, as she would pass away just one day later, on 6 October 2007, at the age of 111 years, 88 days. She was survived by her son and daughter, six grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson.