Caterina was the daughter of the N.H. Ser Antonio Giovanni Dolfin and the N.D. Donata Salamon, members of a secondary branch of one of the most ancient families of the Venetian aristocracy.
In 1755, the young "nobildonna" made a suitable marriage with Marcantonio Tiepolo, a member of another influential noble family which had the means to relieve the Dolfins of their debts.
After years of scandal, the divorce was granted in 1772, upon which she married Tron, who used his marriage to enter into the innermost circles of society, and stately institutions, achieving the prestigious office of "Procurator of Saint Mark", the next most important post to that of Doge.
In several testimonies of her time, Caterina Dolfin was described as a beautiful, kind, cultivated and refined woman, admired for her brilliant conversation, her graceful poetry and prose.
The case consisted in a series of courtly intrigues to get the post of Ambassador to the Duchy of Savoy for one of two candidates, one supported by Gratarolo, and the other by Caterina Dolfin.
In the same year of her husband's candidacy for Doge, Gratarolo answered the insult with another play, which caricatured Dolfin and her social circle, exposing her love affairs and staining her name and reputation publicly.
The victorious candidate turned out to have a spouse even more unsuitable for the title of Dogaressa, Margherita Delmaz, but is reported to have bribed many of the electors to assure her acceptance.