Her wiki, an excerpt:
Pierson was born in Kansas, to a white mother and a black father. Her mother, who gave birth to her at age 15, initially gave her up for adoption, but later changed her mind. She grew up with her mother, in poverty.

In 1997, at the age of 20, Pierson was arrested for shoplifting, to which she pleaded no contest, received deferred adjudication, and, ultimately, a dismissal with the case sealed. She reportedly took $168 in merchandise from a J. C. Penney store in Plano, Texas, and had her then three-month old son with her at the time of the incident.