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
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)