She was a member of a noble and wealthy Roman Christian family, perhaps the sister of Marcella, another ascetic and saint.
When Asella was ten years old, she heard St. Athanasius speak during his third and final visit to Rome, and that, already being a "pious child",[1] inspired her to "dedicate her life to the service of Christ".
[1] Despite her austere lifestyle, it did not affect her health; Jerome wrote that "with a sound body and even sounder soul, she found for herself a monkish cell in the midst of a busy Rome".
[2] Jerome also cited Asella as an example and role model for young women, widows, and virgins, calling her "a flower of the Lord".
[4] After leaving Rome for the East in August 385, Jerome wrote to Asella from on board ship at Ostia to refute the calumnies by which he had been assailed, especially as regards his intimacy with Paula and Eustochium.