Guo Shengtong came from a wealthy family. Her father Guo Chang (郭昌) was a major landowner in the Zhending Commandery (真定, roughly modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei). Her mother was a daughter of Liu Pu (劉普), Prince Gong of Zhending—a hereditary prince descended from the Western Han imperial house, as a sixth generation descendant of Emperor Jing, and she carried the courtesy title of Lady. After Guo's maternal grandfather's death in 7 BCE, her uncle Liu Yang (劉楊) inherited the principality. When Wang Mang usurped the Han throne, he was demoted to duke, and the following year demoted to a commoner.