Joanna Modes: Her Early Childhood

 Hello everyone,

I know I said I would write the next part about Joanna Modes right away… and I didn’t. I’m sorry for that.

The reason is quite simple. I was offered a position at an editorial office, truly my dream job. And when I say dream job, I really mean it. But it came with an avalanche of writing. Articles, deadlines, constant assignments. Even for someone like me, and I genuinely have a light pen — it was a lot.

I run my three blogs purely as a hobby. No one pays me for them, so naturally my editorial work had to take priority.

Besides this blog about Joanna (which I had barely even managed to properly start), I also write about the life of a painter Tracey Emin and her traumatic personal journey, as well as about Malala Yousafzai, who, after being targeted by the Taliban in Pakistan at the age of fifteen for advocating girls’ education, survived an assassination attempt and became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

I suppose I simply like writing about interesting and courageous women. And that is exactly how I see Joanna Modes.

However, when I tried to contact Ms. Modes directly, I encountered a very unpleasant situation. I was redirected to her representative, Ms. Sarah Hoffmann, who informed me that Joanna not only does not wish for any media or blogger attention, but that I am not allowed to write about her at all.

When I politely asked for an official letter signed by Joanna herself confirming this request, Ms. Hoffman stopped replying. She read my follow-up message and completely ignored it.

So, I will also ignore her “ban.”

Let’s get into Joanna’s story.

According to Olivia Beridze’s book "Disputed Princess of Svaneti",  a book Ms. Hoffman tried to convince me does not even exist, and in which, apparently, Joanna was “never any princess”. Joanna was born on 21 May 1985 to sixteen-year-old Wioleta von Tiele-Winckler and seventeen-year-old Robert Bagration-Mukhraneli.

Sixteen and seventeen.

The book explains in great detail why Wioleta interrupted her studies at a technical secondary school in West Germany (FRG) and decided to move to Poland to give birth there. At that time, teenage pregnancy in the FRG was often perceived as a shame. In the GDR and in Poland, however, the social atmosphere was somewhat different — young mothers received more understanding and were able to continue their education without major obstacles.

Wioleta and Robert practically hid in Poland during that period. I won’t go too deep into that just yet.

Their families had known each other since childhood. It was understood early on that they would eventually marry, their families wanted it that way. It was an arranged marriage, and little Joanna became the child connecting two distinguished families.

But early parenthood proved overwhelming.

Wioleta had been an incredibly spoiled young lady from a respected German Polish aristocratic home. She aspired to become a model and a fashion figure. She posed for German fashion catalogues, attended fashion parties and elegant balls, and her father supported her financially in investing in the textile industry. She quickly gained recognition as an international fashion socialite.

She did not devote much time to little Joanna. And by many accounts, she was emotionally cold.

Joanna was raised mainly by her grandparents and by nannies. One of the nannies recalls in Beridze’s book that when Joanna was three years old and crying intensely as her mother was leaving the house, the little girl ran into the hallway wanting to hug her. Wioleta pushed her away, saying, “Move away, you’ll wet my blouse.” Joanna kept trying to cling to her, but Wioleta pushed her back again and instructed the nanny to take the child away.

That image stayed with me.

Robert, on the other hand, was practically absent during the first five years of Joanna’s life. He focused on his studies and mainly sent gifts. He was also somewhat of a party lover, though not interested in glamour — he preferred the company of his academic circle.

I cannot help but wonder how such an early childhood shaped by emotional distance and absence influenced Joanna’s later life.

But that is something I will explore in my next post.

That’s all for now.