Born near Borken, von Stach was the daughter of a Lutheran Protestant estate owner.
After the early death of her mother, she was raised by relatives in Aurich and in a convent in Altenburg.
After two failed marriages – the second in 1902 to the polar explorer Theodor Lerner, with whom she had two sons (Klaus and Thomas) – she moved to Rome in 1905.
This union produced theater director Peter Wackernagel [de] (1913–1958) and Maria Elisabeth (born 1919).
[1] Von Stach wrote plays, novels, fairy tales, and lyric poetry.