The fourth of six children, she has three sisters (Nancy, Sally, and Janet) and two brothers (James and William).

[2] The Tuckers were longtime admirers of Colonel Robert B. Thieme, Jr., the founder and former pastor of Berachah Church in Houston.

Years later, when media attention focused on her family's religious beliefs, Marilyn Quayle said in an NBC interview: "I grew up with my mother listening to (Thieme's) tapes.

[2] She attended Broad Ripple High School and subsequently received a bachelor's degree in political science from Purdue University.

A courtship quickly developed, and they were married by their law school dean just a few weeks later, on November 18, 1972.

[6][7] But as second lady, she played a mostly traditional role as hostess, while being an active and involved mother to their three young children.

[6] With her sister Nancy, she also published a novel, Embrace the Serpent, a thriller about the wife of a vice president.

They have three children: two sons, Tucker, founder of an investment company called Tynwald Capital, and Benjamin, who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona's 3rd Congressional District from 2011 to 2013; and a daughter, Corinne.