The French harpsichordist, (Pauline) Huguette Dreyfus, began taking piano lessons at four years old. In 1946, she enrolled at the École Normale de Musique in Paris, taking piano lessons with renowned concert artist Lazare Lévy for two years and solfeggio, harmony and counterpoint classes for four years. Having learned that organist and musicologist Norbert Dufourcq was devoting a year of special classes (1949-1950) on the music of　J.S. Bach　(in recognition of the bicentennial of　J.S. Bach's death) at the Conservatoire National Supérior de Musique in Paris, she entered his class, where she was introduced to the harpsichord. She remained in his class for four years, also studying musical esthetics and pedagogy with other professors. Also at the Conservatoire, she studied harpsichord for one year with Jacqueline Masson who recommended she take Ruggero Gerlin's summer workshops in Siena at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana. Ruggero Gerlin　had been a student of harpsichord-reviver　Wanda Landowska. In 1958 Huguette won a silver medal in the international harpsichord competition at the Concours de Genève in Geneva; there was no first prize given that year, only in piano and voice.

Huguette Dreyfus became a prominent figure of Baroque music and of the revival of the harpsichord in France and the rest of the world. She appeared as a soloist on numerous radio and TV networks in France. Her international tours took her to Japan, South Africa, Germany, Belgium, Canada, UK, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, Equador, Italy, Luxembourg, Peru, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and USA. While she concentrated on the music of　J.S. Bach,　François Couperin, Scarlatti, and Rameau, her repertoire also included adventuresome scores by contemporary composers. Her favourite instrument was a historic harpsichord made by Johann Heinrich Hemsch, a German maker, loaned to her by Claude Mercier-Ythier for recordings and concerts. Hemsch’s best instruments were made in Paris in the 18^th　century and are often comparable to those made by Blanchet, another celebrated harpsichord maker. Huguette owned a Blanchet herself but it remained in her home.

In Paris, Huguette Dreyfus taught harpsichord at the Schola Cantorum from 1967 to 1990, at the Conservatoire de Bobigny, and gave a bass continuo class at the Sorbonne. Later she was the harpsichord professor at the Conservatoire National de Région in Lyon and also in Rueil-Malmaison. She also gave harpsichord summer workshops at the International Academy of Organ and Early Music in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, and at the Villecroze Academy of Early Music, both of which she initiated. In this regard, the quality and the significant number of professsional harpsichordists among her students such as　Christophe Rousset, Blandine Verlet, Jory Vinikour, Olivier Baumont, Elisabeth Joyé, Yasuko Uyama-Bouvard,　Yannick Le Gaillard, and　Noëlle Spieth,　is eloquent. She was regularly invited to sit on the juries of harpsichord exams and competitions, including the International Harpsichord Competition of Paris in 1976.

She made over 115 recordings, including:　J.S. Bach: 6 English Suites (BWV 806-811), 6 French Suites (BWV 812-817); Rameau: Pieces de Clavecin; Scarlatti: Chronological Anthology of 70 Sonatas; Seixas: 14 Sonatas;　Béla Bartók: Pieces from Mikrokosmos; Chamber music by　J.S. Bach, Leclair, Rameau, Haydn,　Antonio Vivaldi,　Arcangelo Corelli,　C.P.E. Bach　and　W.A. Mozart;　J.S. Bach:　Italian Concerto　(BWV 971),　Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue　(BWV 903),　Inventions & Sinfonias　(BWV 772-801), 6 Partitas (BWV 825-830), French Overture (BWV 831), 4 Duets (BWV 802-805), Prelude, Fugue & Allegro for lute in E flat major (BWV 998),　Goldberg Variations　(BWV 988);　Wilhelm Friedemann Bach: 9 Fantasien. She received numerous Grand Prix for her recordings.

Her numerous concerts, master-classes, and recordings permitted her to work with numerous musical personalities, such as Eduard Melkus, Christian Lardé,　Henryk Szerying, Alfred Deller, Rene Clemencic, Luciano Sgrizzi, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini,　Pierre Boulez,　Paul Kuentz, Bruno Amaducci, Andreas Adorjan,　Lionel Rogg,　Karl Scheit, Gerald Sonneck, Alfred Planyavsky, Hans Jürg Lange, Jean-Pierre Rampal, et al.

Her honours include the Prix de Président de la République de l'Academie Charles Cross and other awards received by her recordings. In 1973, she was named Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite, and in 1987, Officier de l’Ordre nationale du Mérite by the French presidents in office. In 2008 the city of Mulhouse presented her with a medal when she gave her final concert, and named its new music conservatory in 2018 after her.