Meet rebellious British aristocrat Lady Venetia Baring: the half Chinese model is breaking the mould with her tattoos and piercings, Marvel acting job and chef boyfriend

Nov 24 , 2024

Lady Venetia Baring isn’t your typical aristocrat. Photo: @____unladylike____/Instagram

Born into one of England’s most prestigious families, Lady Venetia was expected to live her life a certain way, but decided to carve out a different path …

What comes to mind when you hear the word “lady”? Perhaps you picture the acerbic Lady Danbury from Bridgerton, or one of the respectable women associated with Britain’s royal family. Either way, you likely associate the term with elegance, sophistication and a certain ladylike demeanour.

Lady Venetia Baring is a descendant of two aristocratic British families. Photo: @____unladylike____/Instagram

But at least one woman of noble birth is putting a new spin on the title by flaunting vibrant red hair, a collection of visible tattoos and piercings, a penchant for smoky eyes and bold red lips, and an attitude that defies tradition: Lady Venetia Baring.

“I have a word in front of my name. But I don’t ever use it,” she said in one interview in March. “I’m just, like, a normal person.”

So what else do we know about the mould-breaking 26-year-old?

Lady Venetia Baring is of noble birth

Rowland Baring, (Lady Venetia Baring’s grandfather) – the 3rd Earl of Cromer and former governor of the Bank of England – with his wife Esme and their sons Evelyn and Vivian in 1965. Photo: Getty Images

Born in 1998, Lady Venetia Baring comes from a distinguished lineage. The Baring family established one of England’s oldest and most prestigious banks, while the Rothermere family founded The Daily Mail newspaper. Among her ancestors, Baring can count a former governor of the Bank of England, a one-time British consul general to Egypt and an ex Lord Chamberlain. Her grandmother spent time with the royals at Buckingham Palace and her father was reportedly bounced on Winston Churchill’s knee as a child.

Lady Venetia’s father is Evelyn Baring, the 4th Earl of Cromer. He’d recently resigned from his job at the family bank and run away to Shanghai when he met her mother, Shelley Hu Cheng-Yun. Although her parents spent most of their time abroad – living in Shanghai, Thailand, Hong Kong, Muscat, and Paris – Venetia and her brother Alexander reportedly had a relatively stable upbringing. She spent time in the United Kingdom and Thailand, while Alexander lived in Switzerland and the United States.

Childhood pressures made her a rebel

Lady Venetia Baring is defying expectations by carving out her own path in life. Photo: @____unladylike____/Instagram

Despite the physical distance, Baring endured a strict upbringing from her father, who constantly dictated how she should behave and which paths she should follow. “This is how you have to look, these are the types of jobs you have to go into, these are the kind of boyfriends you have to have,” she recounted him saying. “I really didn’t like my life dictated in that way.”