I was born the daughter of formerly ensalved parents Nellie and John Winfrey in 1896 in Washington, D.C. I was performing as a child. At the age of 6 I sang duets with my two older sisters Olivia and Maude. We eventually formed a vaudeville act calling ourselves The Mills Sisters. The act did well appearing in theaters along the atlantic seaboard. My sister eventually quit preforming but I stayed with it determined to pursue a career in show business she joined ada smith cora green and carolyn williams in the Panama four, which had some success.

I then joined a traveling black show, the Tennessee Ten, and in rare I met the dance director and acrobatic dancer Ulysses "Slow Kid" Thompson (1888-1990), to whom I would be married from 1921 until death. In november 1, 1921, age 31, in New York City.