Her parents Fanny née Salomons (1829–April 10,1901) and Levy "Lafe" Schönberg (1823–1919)[3] were members of the local Jewish community.

Her other children were Leonard Joseph (born 1887), Adolph (1888), Julius (1890), Milton (1892) and Herbert (1901), who would grow up to perform as the Marx Brothers.

As a tribute to her, all the brothers' daughters were given names that began with 'M': Chico with Maxine; Harpo with Minnie; and Groucho with Miriam and Melinda.

[citation needed] Minnie lived long enough to see her sons' 1929 film debut in The Cocoanuts, but died later that year of a stroke.

Marx (played by Shelley Winters) was also the main character in the stage musical Minnie's Boys.