Ellen Beatriz Griffin Dunne was born on 28 January 1932 in Tucson, Arizona, USA. She was married to Dominick Dunne. She died on 9 January 1997 in Nogales, Arizona, USA.
She and husband Dominick Dunne had 5 children in a marriage which lasted fifteen years: 3 daughters and 2 sons. Two daughters died in infancy, and daughter Dominique Dunne was murdered in 1982, and sons Griffin Dunne and Alex survived to mature adulthood.