Auntie Fee

O'Dell was born in South Los Angeles, one of ten children; her father was James O'Dell, a carpenter, plumber, and electrician. She said she knew how to cook by the age of nine after growing up preparing some of her father's favorite dishes, including gumbo, hog's head cheese, and red beans and rice. However, O'Dell's relationship with her father was a difficult one; at age 15, she informed her father that she was pregnant, further estranging their relationship. Still, she later described her father as being a caring person, saying he "would give you whatever he had," in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. O'Dell attended John C. Fremont High School but dropped out during her senior year and subsequently developed a drug habit. She was eventually caught and arrested for selling drugs out of her home, and served time in prison. There are conflicting reports on how long she was in prison. One report says she was incarcerated for only a "few years" in an Arkansas prison.