Gisela Werbezirk was born in Bratislava, Slovakia, then Pressburg or Pozsony in Hungarian. She began her stage carrier in Pressburg. From there she went to Vienna, Berlin and numerous other German cities,. Some of the plays in which she acted were directed by the famous Max Reinhardt. In the 1920s she began performing in cabaret, among them the ‘Simpl’ Vienna, where she achieved acclaim for comic and tragic-comic roles. She also acted in silent movies.
After the Germans incorporated Austria into the Third Reich, Gisela escaped to the C.S.R.(Czechoslovak Republic) in 1938. She acted there in German language theaters. During that year she also performed in Abbazia, Italy, Opatija Yugoslavia, and Prague. She then immigrated to the USA with her husband, Johann Piffl, and their son. In 1939 Giselle Werbiseck (her name in the USA) settled in Hollywood. There she appeared in Walter Wicclair’s exile theater the ‘Freie Buehne,’ Los Angeles; at cultural evenings of the ‘Jewish Club of 1933,’ Los Angeles; in Felix G. Gerstman’s and Gert von Gontard’s German language émigré ensemble and ‘The Players from Abroad,’ New York. Her long acting career also included appearances in Kurt Robitschek’s cabaret ‘Kabarett der Komiker’ and heavily accented European character types in American movies. In 1953 she retired due to serious illness and died three years later.