Theodora (500-548) grew up in Constantinople. She was very poor and of low class. Her father was a bear-keeper in the Hippodrome. Before she met Justinian, she was an actress and a prostitute. The people of Constantinople did not think highly of anybody who provided entertainment for a living. When she met Justinian she was prohibited from marrying him. Justinian persuaded his uncle, Emperor Justin I, to change the law so Justinian an emperor, could marry Theodora, an actress. They married in 522. Justinian inherited the throne in 527 making Theodora his empress. She influenced him greatly. She died on June 28, 548 of cancer.
(Judson Knight: p. 204-205)
