Mary Ellin Barnett was born on November 25, 1926 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. She was married to Marvin Galbraith Barrett and Dennis Sheedy Burden. She died on July 16, 2022 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
She has a daughter with husband Marvin, Mary Ellin Lerner, who is a singer. She married Stephen Daedalus Lerner in September, 1986.
Her grandchildren are: Peter and James Matson, Benjamin Lerner, and Rachel, Nicholas and William Swett.
She has four children with her husband Marvin: Elizabeth Matson (born in 1954), Irving Barrett (born in 1955), Mary Ellin Barrett Lerner (born in 1956), and Katherine Swett (born in 1960).
She once worked as a researcher for Time Magazine.