Messalina was the daughter of Domitia Lepida and Marcus Valerius Messalla Barbatus[2][3]. Messalina's father was the son of Marcus Valerius Messala Barbatus Appianus [4], a Claudius Pulcher by birth (son of Appius Claudius Pulcher, cos. 38 BC) adopted by Marcus Valerius Messala, cos. suff. 32 BC[5][6]. His mother was Claudia Marcella Minor. Her mother, Domitia Lepida, was the youngest child of consul Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus and Antonia Major.