Background The ancient sources say little of her family; however,
Suetonius states that she was a great-great-granddaughter of
Titus Statilius Taurus, a Roman general who was awarded a
triumph for his victory and was twice
consul. She was either the daughter of
Titus Statilius Taurus Corvinus, consul in 45 AD, and who was involved in a plot against the
Emperor Claudius, or a daughter of the sister of Corvinus, Statilia Messallina. Her grandmother might have been
Valeria Messalina Corvina, one of the daughters of
Roman senator Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus who served as consul in 31 BC.
Marriages Her fourth husband was the consul
Marcus Julius Vestinus Atticus to whom she may have borne a son (who died in 88 AD). Around 65 AD, she became Nero's mistress. After the death of the emperor's second wife
Poppaea Sabina, Vestinus was forced to commit suicide in 66, so Nero could marry Statilia. She was one of the few of Nero's courtiers who survived the fall of his reign. After Nero's death,
Otho promised that he would marry her, before his suicide in 69 AD. ==See also==