Shelish was a female Dathomirian and a Nightsister. She left her homeworld of Dathomir when she was young. Consequently, she survived the slaughter of her sisters by General Grievous during the Clone Wars. By the time of the Iron Blockade, Shelish lived in a hut on Jhas Krill, the eleventh moon of Jhas, in the Anoat sector. She was accompanied by a Wookiee named Owacchi, a former pirate who had been betrayed by his associates. She was also the mother of Deathstick, leader of the secret society of assassins known as the Kouhun.