 Princess Zinaida Nikolayevna Yusupova was the only surviving child of Prince Nicholas Borisovich Yusupov (12 October 1827 – 31 July 1891), Marshal of the Imperial Court, and Countess Tatiana Alexandrovna de Ribeaupierre (29 June 1828 – 14 January 1879).Prince Yusupov was a patron of the arts, and first served in the chancery of Tsar Nicholas I. Zinaida's mother, a lady-in-waiting to the Empress, was the daughter of Comte Alexandre de Ribeaupierre and his wife Catherine Mikhailovna Potemkina, a niece of Prince Potemkin.Princess Zinaida's only brother, Prince Boris Nicholaievich Yusupov, died in early childhood.