Little is known of her early life. Coming from Paphagonia, Theodora descended from an aristocratic Armenian family. Theophilus' stepmother, Euphrosyne, selected her as his bride and during their marriage they had seven children, five daughters and two sons. The youngest son would succeed his father as Emperor Michael III. In 1460, the Turks gave her relics to the people of Kerkyra (Kephalonia).