Yelena Sheremeteva was the daughter of the boyar Ivan Vasilyevich Sheremetev. She was selected to marry the son of the tsar in a bride-show of daughters from the nobility. Before her marriage to the Tsarevich, his father had considered many women as a possible wife for his son, but had found most of them unsuitable for one reason or another. The young Ivan's first and second wives were both thrown into convents on account of their apparent inability to have children.

In October 1581, Yelena was found to be pregnant. However, on 15 November, the Tsar accused her of supposedly wearing immodest clothing and he began to beat her. Hearing her screams, Yelena's husband hurried to her defense, shouting at his father, "You sent my first wife to a convent for no reason, you did the same with my second, and now you strike the third, causing the death of the son she holds in her womb."^{[citation needed]} Subsequently, Yelena did indeed suffer a miscarriage.

The Tsarevich Ivan soon confronted his father on the matter, and a heated argument ensued and only ended when the Tsar struck his son on the head with his staff. The Tsarevich died of his wound on 19 November 1581, leaving Yelena a widow.

After the death of her spouse, her father-in-law placed her in the Novodevichy Convent. However, unlike her two predecessors, she was not exiled far away from Moscow, but placed in a convent near the court, where she was treated in accordance to her status as a member of the imperial family.

• Шереметева, Елена Ивановна // Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона : в 86 т. (82 т. и 4 доп.). — СПб., 1890—1907.