Will was born on 18 March 1966 in Cologne, Germany, the daughter of an architect. She grew up in Hürth and attending the Albert-Schweitzer-Gymnasium high school. From 1985 she studied history, politics, and English in Cologne and Berlin, with a scholarship of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES). Whilst a student she had articles published in the Kölnische Rundschau and Berliner Volksblatt newspapers. In 1990 she graduated with a Magister’s degree from the University of Cologne.

In November 1999 Will became the first woman to host the Sportschau sport show. During the 2000 Summer Olympics, she presented live sport shows from Sydney, Australia for the ARD.

An active contributor to the Kindernothilfe and UNICEF charities, Will is also involved in projects aiming to eliminate landmines. On 2 July 2005, she hosted the German stage event of the Live8 in front of the Siegessäule in Berlin. She also serves as Ambassador for the Room of Names of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin.

Alongside Maybrit Illner, Peter Kloeppel and Stefan Raab, Will also moderated the only TV election debate between incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel and her competitor Peer Steinbrück ahead of the 2013 elections, which was aired live on four of Germany’s most-watched television channels during prime-time. She also interviewed Merkel in September 2009 (shortly before the 2009 election), in October 2015, in February 2016, November 2016 and in June 2018 (following the 44th G7 summit). Among the international dignitaries who have appeared on the show were the foreign ministers of Austria and Luxembourg, Sebastian Kurz (2016) and Jean Asselborn (2014, 2015 and 2018).

In 2010, Will interviewed former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder for daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.