[1] Her father was a physician, president of the American Psychiatric Association, and superintendent of Virginia's Central State Hospital.

[4] In midlife, McMullen returned to school, earning another master's degree in child development from Teachers College, Columbia University.

[4] She was a member of the Sunday staff of The New York Times and a contributor to Current History, Everybody's Magazine, The Woman's Journal,[6][7] The World's Work,[8] and The North American Review.

[4] McMullen covered art exhibits[11][12] and suburban concerns, including hunting, shooting, commuting, and swimming pools.

Many of her contributions were profiles, with subjects including Anna Pennybacker,[24] Minnie Maddern Fiske,[25] Mary Belle Sherman,[26] Anna Adams Gordon,[27] Bertha Brainard,[28] Erna Fergusson,[29] congresswomen Ruth Baker Pratt, Ruth Hanna McCormick, and Ruth Bryan Owen,[30] clergy including Helen Barrett Montgomery, Mabel Madeline Southard, and Caroline Bartlett Crane,[31] and businesswomen.