Sonja Maria Kröner was born in Munich in 1979. She studied German literature and philosophy, before enrolling at the Münchner Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film (HFF) in 2003. She went on to direct several shorts, and in 2009, she received a stipend of the Kirch Stiftung and the HFF for her project "Six Doors": In 2010, the 80-minute-long media installation – which presents six women in different life stages in the form of a peep show – was part of an exhibition at the Haus der Kunst in Munich. Kröner's graduation short "Zucchiniblüten" (2010) screened at the 2012 Hofer Filmtage.

Sonja Maria Kröner's feature film debut "Sommerhäuser" ("The Garden") premiered at the 2017 Munich Film Festival, where the family drama garnered awards for direction and production.