 The family was originally from County Offaly, Ireland, until the Cromwell invasion, then left County Cork in the 1850s just after the Potato Famine.After attending Loreto Normanhurst, Martin graduated from the University of Sydney in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, in which her major study was Music.Having spent time in London and other overseas cities, she began working as a typist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Sydney in 1978.