Her peep shows became successful, charging an ounce of gold (sixteen dollars) for a "lookee",[7] and she became one of the highest paid and best-known Chinese sex workers in San Francisco.
[citation needed] Ah Toy also faced pressure from male Chinese leaders, specifically Yuen Sheng, also known as Norman As-sing, who did not like the idea of a woman leading the brothel industry in the city.
[12] While this law was not directed at sex workers, it handicapped Ah Toy's ability to protect herself from the domineering Chinese tongs that had for long sought to control her and her business.
Ah Toy returned to mainstream public attention upon dying in San Jose on 1 February 1928, aged 98,[15] about three months before her ninety-ninth birthday.
[16][17] Olivia Cheng portrays a mostly fictionalized Ah Toy in Cinemax's Warrior, set during the Tong Wars in late 19th century San Francisco.