Born and raised in the heart of Marietta, Rep. Mary Frances attended Marietta City Schools and graduated from Marietta High School.

Her passion for advocacy and public service were instilled at an early age by her late father, L. Howard "Red" Atherton, who owned Atherton's Drug Store on the Square, and served as mayor of Marietta and later as a state representative in the 1960s. She is a lifelong member of the First United Methodist Church of Marietta.

Prior to her election in 2018, Rep. Mary Frances spent 34 years as a public policy advocate for nonprofits serving women, children and families. As an advocate, she helped restore millions of dollars to state school nutrition programs and successfully fought for passage of the Family Care Act, which allows Georgians to use sick leave to care for ailing family members.

Rep. Mary Frances has received numerous awards for her work, including the Annette Bowling Advocate of the Year Award in 2017 from Easter Seals of Southern Georgia, the Carolyn Wetzel Advocacy Award in 2009 from Health Mothers, Healthy Babies of Georgia, and the Maternal and Child Health Community Service Award in 2004 from the Georgia Public Health Association. She is a member of the Leadership Georgia, class of 1993 and the Leadership Cobb, class of 1989.

Rep. Mary Frances earned a Bachelor's of Arts from Earlham College and a Masters of Social Work from the University of Georgia. She has two sons, Nick and Ben, and two grandchildren, twins Cooper and Madison.