John B. Watson
Hartley was born in New York City, the daughter of Mary "Polly" Ickes (née Watson), a manager and saleswoman, and Paul Hembree Hartley, an account executive. Her maternal grandfather was John B. Watson, an American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism. She grew up in Weston, Connecticut, an affluent Fairfield County suburb within commuting distance to Manhattan.