Hsueh Pin's father-in-law was the great Peking Opera star Zhou Xinfang, and in her youth she herself used to sing leading female roles in amateur Peking Opera performances, and travelled around with her work unit's opera troupe entertaining the forces.
薛斌的公公是大名鼎鼎的「麒麟童」周信芳。她自己在年輕時也曾上台票戲唱青衣，跟著工作單位四處去勞軍。