Melanie Becker was born to Ingrid and Karl-Hans Becker in Ahaus, Germany on August 12, 1966. She grew up in Malaga, Spain with her younger sister Katrin Becker. Becker and her younger sister moved to College Station and were recruited to Texas A&M in 2005 as part of a faculty reinvestment program. She would go on to live here for the rest of her life. Melanie Becker died on March 13, 2020, at the age of 53 after a year-long fight with cancer.