Germaine Brée was born in Lasalle, France on October 2, 1907. She spent the early years of her childhood in the British Channel Islands before returning to France with her family in 1922. She continued her education at the Sorbonne, a college within the University of Paris, and chose to major in English. She presented her thesis on Henry James at the end of her studies. Following her graduate studies at the Sorbonne, Brée spent a year as an exchange student at Bryn Mawr College; she would later return to teach at the university in 1936 and 1945. After completing her year as an exchange student at Bryn Mawr College, she taught for four years in Algeria, lectured for one year at Bryn Mawr College, and spent six summers teaching in Middlebury College summer language schools. When World War II began, Brée took a sabbatical from teaching and voluntarily joined the French Army, where she worked as an ambulance driver in North Africa and France. She also spent some time in the French Intelligence Service and was promoted to first lieutenant. She received a Bronze Star for her service after the war.

Brée returned to the United States to continue teaching, and once more accepted a teaching position at Bryn Mawr College. She would go on to teach at many institutions around the world, including: New York University, where she established the French House of NYU, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Princeton University, Williams College, Ohio University, the American University in Cairo, Kings College, London University, University of California Berkeley, and Los Angeles University. She became a United States citizen in 1952. In 1973, she was named the Kenan Professor of Humanities at Wake Forest University. She retired in 1985.

Brée was best known for her work and research on 20th century modern French literature, and was considered an authority on the subject. She specifically lectured and wrote on writers such as André Gide, Jean-Paul Sartre, Marcel Proust, Marguerite Duras, Samuel Beckett, and Albert Camus, the latter with whom she was a close friend. Her most famous book was her critical biography , and it solidified her standing as an expert in her field. Brée's other famous works include, but are not limited to: , , , , , and . Brée was recognized extensively for her accomplishments in the academic world. She received a Fulbright in 1962, was elected President of the Modern Language Association in 1975, was named a Commander of the Order of the Academic Palms by the French government in 1989, and received more than 25 honorary degrees from universities across America. Brée passed away September 22, 2001, at age 93.