Varvara Meshcherskaya was born on January 21 (February 4 in the new style) 1876 in a noble family. She was a cousin of P.B. Struve. She spent most of her youth in Japan, where her father served. She married Prince Peter Nikolaevich Meshchersky (1869, 1944) and held the title of princess. After moving to Paris, with the support of English philanthropist Dorothy Paget, she founded a Russian home for elderly Russian emigrants in distress in Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois, near Paris. Varvara passed away on December 17, 1949, and was buried at the cemetery in Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois.

She was the daughter of diplomat Karl (Kirill) Struve (1835, 1907) and Maria Annenkova (1844, 1889). On her mother's side, Varvara was the granddaughter of General N.N. Annenkov, and on her father's side, a cousin of P.B. Struve. She was born in Tokyo and was baptized on February 7, 1876, in the Resurrection Church at the Russian embassy, where her godparents were her grandmother V.I. Annenkova and Baron R.R. Rosen.

Until 1882, she lived with her parents in Japan, and then in Washington. In 1900, as a lady-in-waiting, Varvara married the aide-de-camp, Colonel Prince Peter Meshchersky in Nice. They lived in St. Petersburg.

After the October Revolution, Varvara emigrated to France, where she, along with her sister Elena Orlova, opened a boarding house for noble maidens. Later, with the financial support of one of her pupils, wealthy American Dorothy Padgett, she purchased a plot of land thirty kilometers from Paris. There, on April 2, 1927, the Russian house was organized, a retirement home for the first wave of emigrants. Thanks to her connections, especially with foreigners, Varvara Meshcherskaya attracted significant donations. The Russian house still operates today, although Russians now make up less than half of its residents. Princess Meshcherskaya was buried alongside her husband at the cemetery in Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois.