As the union of the two principalities had occurred only eleven years prior to Știrbei's birth, her mother worked to ensure that the children thought of themselves as Romanians.

[3] Her mother's dowry included the winery and estate in Dărmănești, which would serve as the Știrbei family's summer home.

Slavici was influential upon Știrbei's life, introducing her to the poet Mihai Eminescu,[2] beginning her love of literature.

[8] She remembered her childhood as idyllic spending time at the family palaces in Bucharest, Buftea and Dărmăneşti, until her mother's death, which coincided with the birth of her youngest sister, Ioana.

[1][2] At the urging of her father, in 1890, Știrbei married Alexandru Marghiloman, a Conservative politician sixteen years her senior.

[8] On 3 March 1907, in a dual ceremony held first at the Town Hall of Bucoveni in Ilfov County, and followed by a religious service on 4 March by a priest from Amzei Church at Știrbei Palace, Știrbei married Ion I. C. Brătianu,[3][4][Notes 1] a Liberal politician and political rival of her previous husband.

[2][3] In 1913, during the Second Balkan War Brătianu established an ambulance service to assist cholera patients who had participated in the Bulgarian campaign.

As World War I began, Brătianu organized a women's workshop, known as "Albina" to encourage the tradition of Romanian stitching handicrafts.

[11] When Ion's mother Caliopia died on 3 February 1920,[2][3] he and Brătianu used his family's estate "Florica", in Ștefănești, Argeș County, as a refuge from the city and politics.

Turning away from the conflict, Brătianu abandoned the gardens, focusing her attention in the interwar years on organizing materials for the Ion I.C.

The three-fold purpose of the foundation was to establish a library to archive Ion's papers, publish his most important works, and raise a statue in his memory.

[10] During World War II, she was encouraged by Liberal Party leaders to maintain communications with Allied diplomats, like Reginald Hoare to negotiate how the Romanians could limit Soviet expansion.

She managed to remove some of her family heirlooms and was offered rooms with Magdalena Beldiman, daughter of Radu Rosetti.