Her father was a distinguished senator named Marcus Junius Silanus,[1] one of emperor Tiberius closest friends.

In terms of succession it made no obvious sense as each of Caligula's brothers had been married off to a cousin within the Julio-Claudian family, adding extra prestige to the men, while Claudilla is not known to have had any such ancestry.

[9] Anthony Barrett on the other hand has argued that the marriage implied favour from Tiberius towards Caligula, since it was impressive compared to those of his sisters.

[19][20] It is hard to guess what the marriage would have meant to Caligula[3] but he seems to have begun an affair with the woman Ennia Thrasylla, the wife of Naevius Sutorius Macro, only after Claudilla's death.

[25] Roman imperial historian Suetonius for unknown reasons almost entirely omits Claudilla from his account of the emperor's life.

[26] A flat Sardonyx cameo (numbered 578) from the Marlborough gem collection is described as depicting Junia Claudia.

[28][29] In the opera Arminio by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, parts of Claudilla are incorporated with those of the fellow historical woman Thusnelda to create the character "Claudia" who serves as a love interest for "Caligola".