Ellmenreich was the son of Johann Ellmenreich and his wife Friederike. He grew up in the cities of Hamburg (1817), Mannheim (1820) and Frankfurt (1821). In Frankfurt, Ellmenreich finished school and joined the Frankfurt Theatre's choir (1833). In 1834, he found work in Altenburg. Appearances in Nürnberg (1834), Düsseldorf (1835) and Schwerin (1836) followed. In Schwerin his mother lived with him until her death in 1845. At the Hoftheater (Court Theatre) of Schwerin, Ellmenreich became a member of the ensemble and remained so until 1860. For one year, until 1861, he led the theater in Rostock. For many years a tour life followed which led him as an actor to Breslau, Meiningen, Mainz, and Berlin. As a director he worked in Rotterdam, Mainz, Frankfurt, Krefeld, Bamberg, Würzburg, Riga, Danzig, Sigmaringen, and Poznań tätig.