She is the Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, representing the seat of Northcote since 2018.

Theophanous was born and raised in Alphington, the youngest child of Greek Cypriot migrant parents.

She defeated the Greens' Lidia Thorpe at the 2018 State Election to become the Member of Parliament for Northcote.

Before entering Parliament, Theophanous worked as an advisor to Fiona Richardson, the previous Labor Member for Northcote and former Minister for Women and Prevention of Family Violence.

[5] Previous to this, Theophanous worked in Government Relations and Corporate Affairs at the Special Broadcasting Agency (SBS).