Mai was born in 1829. Mai's father was Lạn and her mother was Tý. Her paternal grandparents were Gị and Khương Phạm. She had a brother and two sisters, named Tử, Đồng and Biền. She had six half-brothers and four half-sisters, named Thiện, Thọ, Việt, Huỳnh, Hàm, Chúc, Phẩm, Cát, Chức and Cúc.