Antonia Dorotea de Chopitea de Villota was born on 4 June 1816 in Santiago, Chile, to Pedro Nicolás de Chopitea and Isabel de Villota. Her father was a royalist and after the proclamation of Independence of Chile his assets were confiscated. In 1819, the family was forced in to move to Spain and settled in Barcelona. In 1831, they briefly returned to Chile hoping to recover lost possessions and obtain compensation for their confiscated assets, however it was unsuccessful, and the family returned to Barcelona the same year.