Her parents were active in the French underground and committed suicide during the war. She was adopted and brought to the US by an American family where she attended Hollywood High school and some college. She was a talented pianist and singer. Eventually, she fell in with Charles Manson and his "Family." Although not charged with any of the Family murders, she was a strong supporter of Charles Manson during his 1970-71 trial. She got ten years to life in prison for her involvement in a shootout with the police in Hawthorne CA in August 1971.