She was the second child and first daughter of Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, governor of Milan, and Maria Beatrice d'Este, heir to the Duchy of Modena.

[citation needed] Maria Theresa had one older brother, Josef Franz, but he died in infancy in 1772 before she was born.

Their relationship was described as a happy and harmonious one,[citation needed] and Victor Emmanuel spent ample time with their children.

Maria Theresa became a good friend of Marie Clotilde of France, the childless consort of Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont.

[citation needed] Maria Theresa was initially enthusiastically welcomed in Turin, but she soon aroused great discontent among the public.

After the outbreak of a liberal revolution in 1821, her husband Victor Emmanuel abdicated in favor of his brother, Charles Felix.

She was accused of having tried to convince her childless brother-in-law Charles Felix to assign Francis IV, Duke of Modena (her brother and the husband of her eldest daughter Maria Beatrice), as heir to the throne.