She was born on 25 November 1274, the only daughter and heir of the titular Emperor of Constantinople Philip I of Courtenay by Beatrice of Sicily.

Catherine was betrothed three times before her marriage: —Firstly, in 1288, with Michael IX Palaiologos, co-Byzantine Emperor; this union was proposed by the intended groom's father Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos in the hope of reducing the threat of restoring the power of the Latins in the Byzantine Empire and reconciling with both the Holy See and the European monarchs, who frightened Constantinople with a new Crusade; however, after several years of fruitless negotiations and the decisive objection from the French king, the purposed union was abandoned by 1295, when Michael IX was already married.

Since the couple were too closely related, the condition for the marriage was dispensation from Pope Boniface VIII, which was never granted.

Cloud near Paris, Catherine became in the second wife of Count Charles of Valois, son of King Philip III of France.

[1] On 23 April 1301, Charles became titular Latin Emperor with Catherine until her death in Paris on 11 October 1307 at the age of 32.