Marilyn Jonassen grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and attended St Mary College. She moved to Seattle to find-and-follow her bliss. She then lived in Hawaii and Chicago, eventually returning to Seattle where she met and married her husband, Jim. They now make their home in Belltown.

Marilyn has been a volunteer on the Swedish Medical Center Art Committee since 2003 and works to support the inclusion of quality art in public and corporate spaces.