Her siblings included King John III of Portugal and Isabella, Holy Roman Empress.

In 1531, she received as a fiefdom, from her cousin and brother-in-law, Emperor Charles V, the County of Asti which, on her death, was inherited by her son and permanently included on the Savoys' heritage.

In 1534, she welcomed Christina of Denmark, a ward of her brother-in-law the Emperor, on her way to her marriage with the Duke of Milan.

In April 1536, Beatrice fled from the French conquest of Savoy to Christina in Milan in the company of two of her surviving children and the Shroud of Turin from Chambéry.

In November 1537, Beatrice was escorted by the Imperial viceroy of Milan to the Emperor in Genoa, but again, the meeting was without any result.