heo Zouves was born in the Diamond City of Kimberley, South Africa. Her parents George and Joyce were first generation Greek South Africans.

Her maternal grandfather, Spiro Louverdis, was born in Kardakata, Cephallonia. He immigrated to South Africa in 1908. Panorea, her maternal grandmother, was born in Kalavrita in the Peloponissos. She met and married Spiro in Athens in 1928. After this, they made their journey to Kimberley where they settled.

Theo's upbringing combined the best of both Greek and South African traditions. She has been described as one of South Africa's most promising watercolorists. She is unassuming, and has a simple philosophy about her art, describing it as "bursts of joy on paper." She has also been described as a modern day Georgia O'Keeffe.

Creative people and works of art surrounded Theo for the most of her young life. Her father, George was a talented and most successful architect and a patron of the arts, ranking some of South Africa's great artists - Walter Battiss, Frans Clarehout, and Walter Westbrooke as personal friends.

Theo was initially encouraged by her maternal aunt, the late Marina Yaffes, a well known Cape Town potter, to study art. And as a result, she enrolled with and studied with several leading artists of whom George Boys was a great influence. While in Canada in 1986, she studied with Cheu Cheu Mark. This released a flood of creativity in Theo and she has become a prolific artist, concentrating mainly on flowers, birds, and now fish, in an endless variety of exotic acrylics and delicate watercolors.

Her paintings have been featured twice on the cover of the South African Reader's Digest. At the request of the Honorable Nelson Mandela, she was invited to his private residence where she presented him with her painting "True Love" in June 1995. This had appeared on the May issue of the Digest and is now part of his private collection. Her painting "Minoan Vase" was featured on the July 1994 issue of Reader's Digest. This was purchased by the then Minister of the Environment of South Africa.

Theo now lives in Larkspur, California.