Early Life
Thompson grew up in poverty in the eastern part of Oakland, California. She was one of six children of a single mother. Having herself become a mother of two girls, she turned to prostitution when she could not pay a $133 electricity bill. Going to Union Square in San Francisco one night, she earned $1,000 in five hours: "I just wanted the best for my children and I didn't want them to struggle as hard as I had, so I did what I had to do. I wanted to make money, you know, do the right thing ... go home and raise my children and just have a good life, a good quiet positive life."
Read more about this topic: Estella Marie Thompson
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