Born in San Francisco, California in June 1976, Janet Ashe grew up with a widowed mother and her younger sister, after her father was killed in a car accident. She grew up in a relatively okay neighborhood, but became disgusted at the treatment of gays during and after the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. She attended UCLA Law School in adulthood and later became a crusader for gay rights in San Francisco. In 2008, she moved to New Orleans, and joined the D.A.'s office.