[1] Maria Johanna was born on 4 February 1750 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, as the eleventh child and eighth daughter of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and Empress Maria Theresa.

[2][3] Maria Johanna strictly studied Latin, French, Italian, Greek, Spanish, German, English, history, geography, land surveying, mathematics, and theology—from the age of three.

Additionally, Maria Johanna and her sisters were highly educated in dance and singing.

While her brothers were taught to play different instruments, Maria Johanna and her sisters were given singing lessons.

"[7] The loss of Maria Johanna to smallpox, along with that of other members of the family, contributed to Maria Theresa's decision to have the younger members of her family inoculated, and the subsequent acceptance of smallpox inoculation in Austria.