‘WE DO, IN FACT, WORK HARD’: LIFE AS A EUROPEAN MILLENNIAL BARONESS

Newsweek Exclusive Feature

Leonie Baroness von Ungern-Sternberg Baroness zu Pürkel, 29, opened up about her life as a modern-day baroness.

As noble titles fade into obsolescence, ancestral estates vanish from private hands, and aristocratic families relinquish control to tourism boards, the old-world image of the European aristocrat has slipped into near irrelevance—except, perhaps, for Britain’s royals and others at the top of the titled food chain. But descendants remain, and some are adapting to the 21st century in distinctly modern ways.

Leonie Baroness von Ungern-Sternberg Baroness zu Pürkel, a 29-year-old MBA candidate, is one of them.

Known online as @leonievungern, she has carved out a space on TikTok to share what she calls a different kind of nobility—one that balances lineage and historical gravitas with algorithm-friendly storytelling.

“For me, my background is much less about titles and far more about values,” von Ungern-Sternberg told Newsweek. “I see it as a responsibility to honor the past while actively engaging with the present, whether that’s through my work in technology and luxury fashion, my content online, or the conversations I aim to spark about culture, politics, and social change.”

Born into the storied Ungern-Sternberg family—a European noble house with roots and branches in Germany, Sweden, Finland, Russia and beyond—she is acutely aware of how her background is perceived, and often misunderstood.

While popular imagination may conjure up lavish estates, dozens of overworked housemaids and stately etiquette from shows like Downton Abbey, she says the lived experience of modern nobility is often much more nuanced.

“In Germany, for example, many noble families were impoverished after World War II and the subsequent division of the country until the 1990s,” she said. “Most had to rebuild their lives from scratch, often without land, wealth, or resources, and with a lot of hate against us in Eastern Germany.

“This reality is very different from how the nobility and descendants like me are often portrayed in books and films.”

Though the family name persists, von Ungern-Sternberg said the material trappings once associated with it are largely gone.

She now splits her time between Spain, Germany and Mexico pursuing her career, with a focus on artificial intelligence. She is set to complete her MBA this December.

Her social media journey began casually, with her filming “little vlogs” for friends. But as her following grew, she sensed a disconnect between her public persona and her deeper interests—and felt a yearning to share more about her family’s past.

Leonie Baroness von Ungern-Sternberg Baroness zu Pürkel poses for a photograph. Credit: @LEONIEVUNGERN

“I fell into the trap of trying to fit into a stereotypical ‘influencer’ character, sharing makeup and fashion content—which, while I enjoy, has never been the core of who I am,” she said. “I started dreading the process and eventually stopped posting for a while.”

Eventually, she pivoted. She began sharing videos under the informal label “Modern Baroness Diaries,” where she spoke candidly about her upbringing, identity, and the cultural tensions of carrying a historical title at a time when the descendants of the landed gentry—or

those fortunate enough to have garnered inherited wealth and status—are scorned by many.

The result: viral clips, thousands of new followers, and a flurry of questions from around the world.

Von Ungern-Sternberg said that among the most common misconceptions she has faced both online and offline is the idea that all aristocrats do not work.

“People enjoy listening to me because I try to debunk those misconceptions, showing that we do, in fact, work hard, build careers, and try to contribute to society like anyone else,” she said.

That does not mean she downplays or distracts from the distinctiveness of her upbringing, and the privileges she was raised among.

As a child, the millennial was taught multiple languages, and schooled in music, fine art, and history. She attended events with diplomats and ambassadors, went to boarding school in Switzerland, and at age 12, she was encouraged to launch her own charity. In one anecdote, she recalled how her mother tied her to chairs with silk Hermès scarves to instill proper posture.

But privilege, she said, does not exempt her from pressure to water down her past and her personality, which she feels does not “fit neatly into a specific box.”

“It has been a very emotional experience for me on a personal level,” she said. “For much of my life, I felt as though I needed to fit into a character, to change parts of myself so that I wouldn’t be ‘too much.’ Now, I’ve found a space where I can share the entirety of who I am and where people genuinely enjoy hearing my thoughts, feelings, and experiences.”

Von Ungern-Sternberg is now trying her hand at creating short, reflective videos exploring history, identity, and the evolution of class in Europe. Although, she is not impartial to the odd comedic reel, often poking fun at her own ancestors. Audiences have responded not just to her storytelling, but to the questions she raises—about belonging and the inheritance of memory.

“The response to my more thoughtful videos has been overwhelming,” she said. “I’ve received thousands of messages, ranging from curiosity about European aristocratic history to deeply personal stories from people exploring their own roots.

“What fascinates me most is how the conversations have evolved far beyond my own story.”

In those conversations, themes emerge—migration, class, trauma, resilience—and von Ungern-Sternberg has become, for some, a proxy through which to explore them.

“It’s been a powerful reminder that people crave substance and nuance online,” she said, “and that platforms like TikTok can be used for so much more than trends; they can educate, connect, and inspire.

“My goal is to use the weight of my family history and general knowledge to build bridges, challenge stereotypes, and show that heritage and progress are not opposites.”

She has also noticed generational shifts within her own viewership.

“One of the most touching parts of this journey has been hearing from both younger and older generations who tell me that my videos have inspired them,” she said. “Whether to explore their own family history, question the world around them, embrace their authentic selves or take some advice for raising their children.”

While she has earned praise and been embraced by many viewers, the journey has not been without difficulty.

She said the visibility of her name and family history has also attracted some online hate and scrutiny from viewers averse to aristocratic families being recognized, even without their former wealth or privilege, in 2025. With the U.S. median household income sitting at $83,730 in 2024, Von Ungern-Sternberg's tales of attending fanciful boarding schools have been hard to stomach for some. Still, the graduate student's focus remains on connection, context, and having fun online—not provocation.

“I’ve also been learning a lot from my followers,” she said. “I read every single comment and direct message."

The more she shares, the more she believes that her story—once confined to dusty genealogies or awkward formal introductions—has resonance well beyond other people in her shoes.

“Ultimately, I believe this has less to do with titles and more to do with how you are brought up,” she said. “Being raised with strong values, an emphasis on education, curiosity, and a sense of responsibility, that’s not exclusive to aristocracy.

“You don’t need a title to embody and share those qualities, and, if anything, I hope that my gaining visibility online can show that this way of approaching the world is accessible to anyone.”

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