Anne-Marie v. Stürler was the youngest of four daughters born into a long-established Bernese family. Her parents were strict and she was even afraid of her mother, which is why she often sought solace with the maid. She began violin lessons at the age of seven.

After secondary school, she would have liked to go to grammar school, but the classes there were mixed, which was out of the question for her father. Instead, she attended the trade school for daughters and the women's work school. Eventually, her parents allowed her to attend the conservatory's vocational school. After a period of study in Paris, Anne-Marie became a violin teacher at the Bern Conservatory and a music teacher at the New Girls' School. For many years, she also played the violin and viola in the Bern Chamber Orchestra and the Bern Symphony Orchestra - which is said to have been "the most beautiful thing" for her.