Her sister Lavinia Warren was married to General Tom Thumb.

Minnie and her sister had both been born at a normal birth weight but then stopped growing early in their lives.

[6] In addition to the public interest in her tiny stature, Minnie performed as a singer.

She married Edmund Newell, who was also a dwarf and paid performer for P. T. Barnum.

The baby, a girl who weighed 6 pounds, died a few hours later.