The Marks Family

The Marks family consists of patriarch James B. Marks and his late wife Louisa Marks, their two sons and one son in law, two daughters, one daughter in law and one ‘bonus daughter’. As well as their 4 grandchildren, one ‘honorary grandchild’, and one ‘bonus grandchild’.

## Background

The Marks family are of English descent and have connections with Cornwall and Portsmouth, they are distant relatives of Hertha Ayrton. Henry J. Marks, born 1909 and Margaret A. Marks (née Ward), born 1912, were married in 1931 and immigrated to the United States in 1934. Margaret A. Marks was a homemaker, she died in 1996 aged 84. Henry J. Marks was a retail store manager, he died in 1997 aged 88, Henry died 11 months after his wife. They were survived by seven of their eight children and 31 grandchildren.

### Children

* 1935: First Child
* 1937: Second Child
* 1940: Third Child
* 1943: Fourth Child
* 1945: Fifth Child
* 1947: James B. Marks
* 1949: Seventh Child
* 1952: Eighth Child

The Marks Family were originally of Jewish origin, however by the time Henry J. Marks had come along the family was what he called ‘barely religious’. James B. Marks would eventually say they had "rejected institutional religion completely" by the time he’d reached adulthood. The current day Marks Family is a mix of everything from atheists to spiritual to devoutly religious.

## James B. Marks

James B. Marks is a retired construction manager and engineer. He was born on Wednesday March 31, 1948 in Los Angeles, California, the sixth of eight children to retail store manager Henry J. Marks and homemaker Margaret A. Marks (née Ward). James was married to Louisa Marks (née Torres) from 1969 until her death in 2009. James and Louisa had four children, two sons; Richard and Sean, and two daughters, Charlotte and Rhonda. James eventually retired in 2006 but still occasionally consults on construction projects with former colleagues and the cities of Pasadena and South Pasadena.

## Louisa Marks

Louisa M. Torres was born on Monday January 22, 1945 in Oceanside, California to parents who had immigrated to the US from Mexico in the early 1940’s. Louisa was the only member of her family to attend college and eventually became a high school English teacher. In 1969 she was married to James B. Marks and the two settled in Pasadena, California where they went on to have four children, two sons and two daughters. Louisa had suffered heart problems since early adulthood and had a congenital heart defect, she eventually passed away due to complications in 2009 aged 64.

## Richard Marks

Richard A. Marks is a financial advisor and analyst for an American technology company. He was born in Pasadena, California on Wednesday July 28, 1971 to James B. Marks and Louisa Marks (née Torres), he is the first of four children. Richard eventually met Jennifer Bell at Southwestern Law School in 1993. The two were married in 1994 and their only child, Amanda Marks, was born in 1996.

## Jennifer Marks

Jennifer D. Bell was born on Friday November 6, 1970 in Eccleshall, Staffordshire, England into a moderately wealthy but still working class family. Jennifer is one of 9 children to her homemaker mother and businessman father. Jennifer eventually attended Southwestern Law School where she met Richard Marks in 1993 and the two married in 1994. Jennifer and Richard’s only child, Amanda Marks, was born in 1996. Jennifer eventually became a city attorney and legal adviser in the city of Glendale, California.

## Amanda Marks

Amanda B. Marks was born on Monday February 19, 1996 in Pasadena, California to financial advisor Richard Marks and corporate lawyer Jennifer Marks (née Bell). She trained to become a ballet dancer in her early life and while at the School of American Ballet she met Lindsey Shaw, the two having been together ever since. Unfortunately for Amanda after some injuries and personal difficulties she eventually had to give up her dream of becoming a dancer shortly after achieving it, and instead focus on her studies and future career. Amanda went to college at UC Berkeley where she also subsequently earned a Master’s in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2019. In 2020 Amanda become a HSI Special Agent and Intelligence Analyst.

## Lindsey Shaw

Lindsey A. Shaw was born on Thursday October 13, 1994 in Syracuse, New York to Carlos and Elizabeth Shaw, she has a younger brother, Carlos Jr. (b 1997). Lindsey studied ballet at the School of American Ballet where she met Amanda Marks and the two have been together ever since. Lindsey was a professional dancer from 2012 until injury forced her into early retirement in 2016. Lindsey went on to become a personal trainer, as well as a lifestyle and fitness consultant.

## Sean Marks

Sean D. Marks was born in San Fernando, California to James B. Marks and Louisa Marks (née Torres) on Monday August 11, 1975, he is the third of four children. Sean eventually went to Becker College and became a Border Patrol Agent in 1998 and a HSI Special Agent in 2006. In 2017 he met Dr. Toni Arwood at a cafe in the Valley and the two were married in 2018.

## Toni Marks

Dr. Antonia R. “Toni” Arwood was born in Westwood in Los Angeles, California on Saturday December 12, 1970. She eventually followed in her father’s footsteps and became a doctor, she attended Baylor College of Medicine and eventually graduated in 1997. In 2006 she became a pediatrician and worked at a hospital in Dallas before eventually moving back to Los Angeles in 2010 and eventually accepted a position at the California Hospital Medical Center. In 2017 Toni met HSI Special Agent Sean Marks at a cafe in the San Fernando Valley and the two were married the following year.

## Charlotte Marks

Charlotte J. Marks was born on Sunday January 8, 1978 in Pasadena, California to construction manager and engineer James B. Marks and teacher Louisa Marks (née Torres). Charlotte is the youngest of four children, she eventually earned a BA in Accounting and went on to become a CPA in 2003. Charlotte met Jason Martinez in 2009 and they were married in 2011, they went on to have a daughter in 2014 before eventually separating the following year. Charlotte has been dating Michelle Collins since 2017, they live together with their blended family of two children in Jacksonville, Florida.

## Michelle Collins

Michelle M. Collins is a entrepreneur and businesswoman, she was born in 1981 in South San Francisco, California. Michelle grew up in a very free spirited and creative family with several ties to show businesses and dance organizations. Michelle went to college to study Business Administration and ended up having a daughter shortly after graduating from a short term boyfriend who left as soon as he found out Michelle was pregnant. Michelle eventually moved to Jacksonville, Florida where she started her own business in the equipment supply field. In 2017 she met Charlotte Marks and the two began dating shortly after, they live together in Jacksonville with their two children.

## Rhonda Marks-West

Rhonda E. Marks is a lawyer and public defender for the County of Santa Barbara, she was born on Sunday September 2, 1973 in San Fernando, California and is the second of four children to construction manager and engineer James B. Marks and his late wife Louisa Marks (née Torres). Rhonda graduated from Loyola Law School in 1999 and went on to work for a law firm in Los Angeles County before eventually becoming a public defender for the County of Santa Barbara 2011. Rhonda is married to independent filmmaker Shane West, they have two sons.

## Shane West

Shane S. West is an independent filmmaker and special effects artist, he was born in 1963 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to a blue collar family which he described as ‘highly dysfunctional, but good at hiding it.” Shane eventually left as soon as he turned 18 and went on to work several odd jobs before eventually becoming a production assistant on a zero budget indie horror film. After the film became a cult classic, Shane made several professional connections and eventually became a special effects artist and second unit director for a number of low budget and exploitation films in the 80’s. In the early 1990’s Shane made his own film which became a hit and spawned 7 sequels as of 2023. Shane is married to lawyer Rhonda Marks and together they have two sons.

## Marks Family Children

### Charlotte Marks and Michelle Collins

* Evelyn Marks: Born 2014 (Father: Jason Martinez)
* Adalynn Collins: Born 2003 (Father: Unnamed)

### Rhonda Marks-West and Shane West

* Christopher West: Born 2005
* James Bradley West: Born 2007

## Other Family Members

* Unnamed Parents of Jennifer Marks.
* 8 Unnamed siblings of Jennifer Marks.
* Unnamed family of Toni Marks.

## See Also

* Marks Family Alma Maters: A list of colleges and universities attended by members of the Marks Family