She was born in Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, where her parents lived when the country was part of Russia.
In 1921, Alexandra was accepted into the studio of the Russian neoclassic artists Vasil Shukhaev and Aleksandr Yakovlev in Montparnasse.
In 1928, Alexandra graduated from the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs and continued her studies with Natalia Goncharova.
The couple fled to New York City in 1940, after the Nazi invasion of France leaving behind 300 works.
She had her first exhibition in the United States in 1943 showing 36 paintings and in 1944 Alexandra Pregel was accepted as a member of the National Association of Women Artists.