Martha Nash Legg is John Nash’s young sister, born in 1930. Martha—described as “tall and striking” and “extremely intelligent”—attends the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and becomes a teacher. As Nash begins to experience symptoms of schizophrenia, Martha and Virginia, Nash’s mother, take over care of Nash, helping to coordinate various hospitalizations. Later, Nash moves to Roanoke, Virginia, where Martha and Virginia live. Nash’s erratic behavior takes a toll on Martha’s life; after Virginia’s death, Nash briefly lives with his sister, but she finds it hard to cope with him and arranges to have him committed to a hospital in Virginia. Nash, who fears hospitalizations, is furious, vowing to cut all ties with Martha. The two reconcile later in Nash’s life, during his remission from schizophrenia, though Martha acknowledges that Nash’s illness greatly affected her own well-being.