Her father was a shipyard superintendent and her mother, Nellie (Valentine) Brennan, was a homemaker and inventive home cook.

Her brother Owen owned the Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street, and Ella Brennan worked there as a teenager.

Plans to move the restaurant to Royal Street were interrupted when Owen suddenly died and banks pulled out of the venture.

[2] Miss Ella (as she became known) went on to develop the careers of many chefs including James Beard Foundation Award winners Jamie Shannon and Tory McPhail, who was the chef at Commander's Palace until the end of 2020 when he handed over the reins of the kitchen to Meg Bickford.

Her daughter Ti Adelaide Martin is co-proprietor of Commander's Palace and SoBou restaurants, and her son Alex Brennan-Martin is proprietor of Brennan's of Houston.