[3] Jack-Denton was born in 1955, the daughter of Sir Alieu Sulayman Jack, who was a Gambian politician and the Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1962 to 1972.
Her brother, Sulayman Bun Jack, was a permanent secretary at the Department of Defence in Sir Dawda Jawara's government and is currently a British citizen.
[8] She was arrested in March 2006 and detained for three months following an attempted coup plot by a group of soldiers and civilians.
Later that day, she was confirmed as the Speaker of the National Assembly and sworn in by the Chief Justice, Hassan Bubacar Jallow.
[6] Following her appointment, Musa Saidykhan commented in Kairo News that "a solid background in law coupled with the spirit of a fighter, [means] many Gambians think Mariam Denton deserves to be a Speaker in a free and democratic Gambia.