Anna Leopoldovna was born on December 7, 1718, in Rostock. She was the daughter of Duke Karl Leopold of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Ekaterina Ivanovna, the niece of Peter I. In 1731, after Anna Ivanovna ascended to the throne, she summoned her sister and niece, as she needed an heir. The Empress hoped that by marrying off Elizabeth, she would await the birth of a son from her niece, to whom she would pass the throne. Elizabeth converted to Orthodoxy and received the name Anna in honor of her aunt.

In 1739, Anna married Anton Ulrich, the son of the Duke of Brunswick. The following year, they had a son, Ivan. On October 7, 1740, Anna Ivanovna appointed the infant Ivan as her heir, and her favorite, Duke E. I. Biron, became the regent for him. However, Biron lacked support among the nobility and the elite. Field Marshal B. K. Minich obtained Anna Leopoldovna's consent to arrest Biron, and on November 7, 1740, he was overthrown. On November 9, a manifesto was published in the name of Ivan VI, appointing his mother as regent.

Anna Leopoldovna sought to correct the injustices of the previous reign. She ordered the Secret Chancellery to provide information about exiled individuals, and the children of A. P. Volynsky and members of the Golitsyn and Dolgorukov families returned from exile. Anna's initial steps promised a liberal rule, but her behavior sparked gossip and undermined her authority. In 1735, she fell in love with the Saxon envoy Count Karl Moritz Linare, who then gained significant influence in imperial affairs. Subjects saw him as a new foreign favorite, similar to Biron. Foreign diplomats noted that the softness of the new government was perceived as weakness. Discontent with Anna Leopoldovna grew in the capital society and among the guard.

On the night of November 24-25, 1741, a coup brought Elizabeth Petrovna, the daughter of Peter I, to power. Anna Leopoldovna, Anton Ulrich, and their children were arrested. Anna was separated from her son Ivan Antonovich, and the family was exiled to the village of Kholmogory near Arkhangelsk, where they had three more children. Anna Leopoldovna died on March 7, 1746, from puerperal fever.