After completing her sentenced, Pearson had a chance encounter with Michael K. Williams who invited her to the set of The Wire where she impressed the producers and was written into the show for a minor role before the character was expanded.
The character, however, was inspired by and named for the actress who brought the character to life.
In a Baltimore Sun profile on Felicia Pearson, it was revealed that, like the character she played on TV, the actress grew up on the streets of Baltimore and was at one point sent to prison for second-degree murder after she shot and killed another teenager during a fight.