Colen was married to Patrick Cronin on October 23, 1977 and together they had two sons, James Cronin and Charlie Cronin. She died of lung cancer on November 18, 1999 in Los Angeles, California, at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Colen died on the opening night of Brentwood High School's production of The Man Who Came to Dinner, which was written by her grandfather, Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright George S. Kaufman, and which starred her son, James Cronin, in the title role of Sheridan Whiteside. Her memorial Service was held at Saint James Episcopal Church in Los Angeles ten days later.