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Early years

Theodora was of Greek descent, but much of her early life, including her place of birth, is unknown. Procopius 's Secret History is the foremost source of her life before marriage, but is often regarded as slanderous. According to Michael the Syrian, her birthplace was in Mabbug, Syria; Nicephorus Callistus Xanthopoulos says Theodora is a native of Cyprus, and the Patria, attributed to George Codinus, claims Theodora came from Paphlagonia. She was born c. AD 490. Her father, Acacius, was a bear trainer for the Hippodrome 's Green faction in Constantinople. Given her father's profession, modern scholars argue that it is highly probable that Theodora was a native of the capital – this is furthered in Procopius' narrative. Her mother, whose name was not recorded, was a dancer and an actress. She had two sisters, an elder named Comito and a younger named Anastasia. After her father's death, her mother remarried, but the family lacked a source of income because Acacius' position was given away by Asterius, a Green faction official who accepted a bribe in exchange. When Theodora was four, her mother brought her children wearing garlands into the Hippodrome, presenting them as suppliants to the Green faction, but they rebuffed her efforts. Consequently, Theodora's mother approached the Blue faction which took pity on the family and gave the position of bear keeper to Theodora's stepfather.

According to Procopius' Secret History, before the onset of adolescence, Theodora began her work as a prostitute by joining alongside her older sister Comito when she performed onstage and worked in a Constantinople brothel, serving low and high-status customers. Later, she performed on stage. In his account of Theodora, Edward Gibbon wrote:

Her venal charms were abandoned to a promiscuous crowd of citizens and strangers of every rank, and of every position; the fortunate lover who had been promised a night of enjoyment was often driven from her bed by a stronger or more wealthy favorite; and when she passed through the streets, her presence was avoided by all who wished to escape either the scandal or the temptation.

Procopius wrote that Theodora made a name for herself with her pornographic portrayal of Leda and the Swan, where she would have birds eat seeds from her nude body. Employment as an actress at the time would have included performing "indecent exhibitions" on stage and providing sexual services off stage. During this time, she may have met Antonina, the future wife of Belisarius who also became a part of the women's court led by Theodora.

One time when she went to the house of a notable to entertain during drinks, they say that when the eyes of all the diners were upon her she mounted the frame of the couch by their feet and unceremoniously lifted up her clothes right there and then, not caring in the least that she was making a spectacle of her shamelessness. Even though she put three of her orifices to work she would impatiently reproach Nature for not making the holes in her nipples bigger than they were so that she could devise additional sexual positions involving them as well. She was often pregnant, but by using almost all known techniques she could induce immediate abortions.

The accuracy of Procopius's portrayal of Theodora's early career is unclear. Sexual promiscuity was ascribed to many female actresses and performers of the time and the Secret History 's lengthy and pornographic descriptions of Theodora's behavior are perceived as slanderous slut-shaming and unreliable by many modern historians. Procopius relied on gossip, propaganda, and prejudice to describe events of which he had no first hand knowledge. However, some contemporary authors such as John of Ephesus, also describe Theodora as having come "from the brothel", but this translation of pornae, which most commonly means "prostitutes" is used by John Ephesus to refer to actresses, suggesting that porneion which commonly means "brothel" in classical Greek was used to describe her past as an actress and not the place she came from. Therefore, the association of Theodora with a brothel may only reflect her time on stage as an actress, instead of her being a prostitute. Consistent with the Christian principles of repentance and forgiveness, John wrote of her redemption as a positive tale.

Later, Theodora traveled to North Africa as the concubine of a Syrian official named Hecebolus, who became the governor of the Libyan Pentapolis. Procopius alleges that Hecebolus mistreated Theodora, with their relationship dissolving after a quarrel in Africa. Theodora, "destitute of the means of life," settled in Alexandria, Egypt, where some historians speculate that she met Patriarch Timothy III, a Miaphysite, and converted to Miaphysite Christianity. From Alexandria, she traveled to Antioch, where she met a Blue faction dancer called Macedonia who may have served as an informer for Justinian; according to Procopius, Macedonia and Justinian often exchanged letters. Afterwards, Theodora returned to Constantinople where she met Justinian.

Justinian wanted to marry Theodora but Roman law from Constantine's time barred anyone of senatorial rank from marrying an actress. Equally, giving up this profession did not impact the legality of the marriage as anyone who had been an actress would furthermore be regarded as such. The empress Euphemia, consort of the emperor Justin, also strongly opposed the marriage. Following Euphemia's death in 524, Justin passed a new law allowing reformed actresses to marry outside of their rank if the marriage was approved by the emperor. Shortly thereafter, Justinian married Theodora. According to Procopius, these laws were created specifically for Justinian and Theodora.

Theodora had an illegitimate daughter whose name and father are unknown. It also appears that she was married and had children with another Monophysite. The same law that allowed Justinian and Theodora to marry, let Theodora's daughter marry a relative of the late emperor Anastasius. Procopius's Secret History claimed that Theodora also had an illegitimate son, John, who arrived in Constantinople several years after Justinian and Theodora's marriage. According to Procopius, when Theodora learned of John's arrival and claims of kinship to her, she secretly had him sent away and he was never heard from again. Some historians, including classics scholar James Allan Evans, believe that Procopius's account of John is unlikely to be factual because Theodora publicly acknowledged her illegitimate daughter and, therefore, would have acknowledged an illegitimate son had one existed.