Marcelle Bühler was born into the Bühler family, a notable group of entrepreneurs and politicians from Uzwil in Switzerland. Bühler was a talented Alpine skier and finished tenth in the combined event at the 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Olympics. Later the same year she finished ninth in the downhill and slalom events at the Alpine World Ski Championships in Innsbruck, before winning bronze in the combined event at the Swiss championships. After her skiing career Bühler had a keen interest in art and later became an honorary member of the Winterthur Art Association.