Morgenstern started for SC Karl-Marx-Stadt and was trained by Jutta Müller . In 1966 she was the Spartakiade champion in figure skating. Two years later she took part in the Winter Olympics in Grenoble for the GDR . As the first female athlete, she jumped the triple Salchow at the World Championships in Lyon in 1971 and took sixth place with the third best freestyle. Her greatest success was winning the bronze medal at the European Championships in 1972. In the same year she was Olympic sixth.
In 1973 she had to end her figure skating career due to injury and studied pedagogy in Zwickau . She had to give up teaching in 1981 because her son Michael needed intensive care for the first four years of life due to illness. Later she completed an adult qualification as a beautician and worked in this profession.
Morgenstern also briefly trained Stefan Lindemann in the mid-80s .